What is Love Anyway?
by Aria6
Summary: What if, instead of fighting Grimmjow first, Ichigo fights Nnoitra? And the sixth Espada takes the injured shinigami prisoner? But the only one who understands what's going through his mind is Ulquiorra, and he's not telling. Grimm/Ichi, lemons galore, non-con and some torture... read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: This fic was inspired by a yaoi picture of Grimmjow and Ichigo. Grimmjow is sleeping while Ichigo is sitting, a hand on his head and fingernail marks on his back. It's an awesome pic, go look it up!

_Fucking damn it, this hurts._

_It's pretty funny, really. I did this to save him from being tortured and broken into little pieces. And now I'm being tortured by the fucking shinigami I brought him to. You'd think they'd have some gratitude, but no. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course they're torturing me. I have lots of useful things I could tell them. It's still pretty funny, though._

_I'm not laughing._

_I hate that clown faced freak. The other one, that woman captain, she just wants information. She'd stop if I told her what she wants to know. That other fucker couldn't care less what I have to tell him. He wants to take me apart and see how I work. Reminds me of Szayel. He'll never stop, no matter what I do._

_My wrists hurt. These fucking chains. I wish they would let me sleep. It's getting so fucking hard to concentrate, but every time I start to drop off that damned sound wakes me up. Just another torture, and it fucking hurts._

_I hear someone coming. It's the woman, I can tell from how she walks. Time for another session. What will it be this time, electrical shocks? Pressure points? She's damned good with the pressure points. I thought I was good but she's leagues past me._

_I wonder if he knows I'm here? But why would he care. I might think he's my mate, but he thinks I raped him. And I guess I did._

_I guess I did…_

* * *

The past.

"Never would have guessed you'd be so cute like this, Kurosaki." Grimmjow grinned down at the orange haired shinigami. He was well roughed up, not surprising at all. Nnoitra had gotten to him first, and the kid had managed to kill the unutterable bastard, but then Grimmjow had arrived. It had been tempting to kill the brat, and even more tempting to have him healed to make it a fair fight, but he'd finally succumbed to a different temptation and taken the kid prisoner.

After that, things had gotten interesting. Aizen had demanded to know his plans for the bitch and Grimmjow had finally told him. That had seemed to amuse him, and he'd given permission, not that Grimmjow needed that bastard's permission for anything. Well, he did, but he wasn't going to admit it. And with that permission he'd gotten Szayel to make up some nice little trinkets to keep the boy in his place.

The collar he was wearing was amazing work. It looked like a thin black band, without any kind of lock or key. Only an Espada or Aizen could remove it, and it kept the kid's reiatsu in check. He was also wearing silvery little bracelets that could be placed together and, with a small command, locked to each other or any other surface. That made restraining him child's play. Of course, Grimmjow could have held him down just with his hands, but then it would have been hard to follow through on the rest of his plans. And oh, did he have plans.

"Fuck off, you bastard! I'm going to get out of here and save Orihime!" Ichigo snarled and amused blue eyes met determined brown.

"You think so?" Grimmjow said lightly, hands in his pockets. The shinigami was half-naked already, his lovely upper body completely exposed. His hands were held behind his back and locked onto the floor, so he wasn't going anywhere. "Because I think you're about to get fucked, Kurosaki." The kid looked confused as the Espada above him began to pull off his jacket. Then he started on his pants and Kurosaki started to get a clue, from the panicked expression.

"Hey, wait! What do you think you're doing?" He demanded. Grimmjow just sneered and considered Ichigo's pants. They were so ragged they were hardly worth saving anyway, so he ripped them off in one smooth move. "HEY!"

"Shut up." Grimmjow said absently as he noticed Kurosaki wasn't wearing any underwear. Convenient. The kid was well hung, too, although he wasn't aroused at all. But that would change soon. Grimmjow grinned to himself as he got out a bottle of oil and spread it on his hands before fondling the pretty flesh. "You do look nice like this, Kurosaki." He casually held the shinigami's hip down with one hand as he tried to get away.

"Grimmjow, stop it! What the hell? I thought you wanted to kill me!" Ichigo was starting to look panicked now, squirming away from the unwelcome touch. Grimmjow just smiled as he saw the 'unwelcome' touch was getting pretty welcome, to the teen's body anyway. "Get the hell off me!" He yelped as Grimmjow grinned and suddenly mounted him, grinding their erections together. "I'm only sixteen." That was as close to a plea as he'd ever heard from the shinigami and it didn't impress the Espada.

"You're trying to tell me you're only a cub? Bullshit. You killed Nnoitra, dipshit. You're more than old enough." Grimmjow was vague on how humans measured age anyway. He had no idea of his own years, and didn't care a bit. All he cared about was the fact that Kurosaki was looking wonderfully fuckable at the moment. Shoving the teen's legs apart, he started to prepare the unwilling boy. It was tempting to just shove it all in, but then Kurosaki would be screaming, and he'd never really enjoyed that sort of thing.

"Stop it! Ah, Grimmjow, god dammnit, stop!" Ichigo was trying very hard to kick him and Grimmjow growled as he subdued the thrashing shinigami with force and leverage. Then he slowly rubbed their cocks together again, getting a soft gasp from the boy before he went back to exploring his ass. "No! I don't want this!"

"Y'know, Kurosaki, what makes you think I give a fuck about what you want?" Grimmjow said as he carefully worked a finger in, past that tight ring of muscle. Ichigo gasped in pain at the foreign intrusion and let out a whine that sent a heady feeling of desire up Grimmjow's spine. "You're a pretty little strawberry, and I'm gonna eat ya." He grinned at the panicked look in the shinigami's eyes, adding a second finger and stretching him carefully.

"N-Not literally." Kurosaki sounded quietly terrified now and Grimmjow frowned before nipping the boy's throat, making him squirm with a gasp.

"No, not literally, dumbass." Although maybe it wasn't the dumbest question in the world. Hollows did eat each other, after all. "Just shut up and enjoy this." A third finger joined the first two and Kurosaki groaned in pain at the uncomfortable stretch. Then he gasped as Grimmjow found his prostate, massaging him and making his member leak small, pearly beads. "You're gonna like it."

"Shut the fuck up and get it over with!" Ichigo suddenly flared and Grimmjow grinned, gripping the boy's hips and positioning him before going inside with a single, rough motion. "AH!" Ichigo arched in pain, but the Espada knew he'd used enough oil. He took his time, just enjoying the tight heat around his member as Kurosaki started to adjust. "Nnn… agh!" Ichigo gasped as he slid out, then rammed back in, nailing the kid's prostate along the way. Then he latched his fangs onto the boy's throat, nibbling and sucking the tender skin. A few drops of blood made their way into his mouth and Grimmjow savored the delicious taste.

Hot, velvety walls gripped his aching cock, and Grimmjow groaned in pure pleasure as he plunged into the boy with abandon, giving his mind over to the rutting. Tears were running down Kurosaki's cheeks and he licked them away, savoring the bittersweet taste of his enemies' pain and pleasure. He gripped the boy's erection, pumping it with every thrust. The kid gasped at the feel of rough calluses on soft, tender skin and Grimmjow could see he was starting to get close. That pleased the Espada, and he grinned wickedly as he ran his thumb over the teen's weeping erection, then gently fondled his sac. Ichigo convulsed with pleasure, his cock throbbing hard as he released between the two of them. But Grimmjow wasn't done, and he kept thrusting into the limp, spent teen. He dug his fingers into the teen's shoulders, raising thin lines of blood as he filled the body beneath him with his hot seed.

They lay there for a moment, just looking at each other. Grimmjow smiled in pleased dominance, savoring the expression on Kurosaki's face. It was a combination of pain, fear, anger and confusion. There were still tears on his face and Grimmjow leaned forward to gently lick them away before he pulled out of the teen. Ichigo groaned at the feeling and he grinned, amused.

"That was as good as I'd thought it would be." Grimmjow said, feeling pleased and sated as he gazed at the body of his new partner. Ichigo just glared at him, tears glazing his eyes. Grimmjow reached down and unlocked his wrists from the floor. "Get to sleep, Kurosaki. Oh, and you can't leave this room unless I let you." That was a function of the collar. If Ichigo tried, it would be like he'd run into a barrier. He'd only be able to leave if Grimmjow took him out.

"I hate you." Kurosaki said bitterly and Grimmjow grinned at the tone. Oh, yes, he remembered that tone like it was yesterday. It hadn't been Ichigo saying those words, though. Not even close.

"Yeah, I know you do. Now go to sleep, or you'll be hurting more tomorrow." Grimmjow lay down on his sleeping mat, pretending the sleep. He heard Ichigo move away and listened to soft sobs that finally tailed off into slower breathing. Opening his eyes, he sat up and saw the kid was sleeping beneath the barred window. No blankets, nothing to keep him warm, and as he watched a shiver went through the pale body. "Dumbass." Grimmjow muttered to himself as he stood and quietly walked over to the sleeping boy, draping his blanket over the shinigami. He watched for a moment, seeing the shivers ease and the fitful sleep turn into something deeper. Satisfied, he returned to his mat and picked up his jacket, using it to keep him a little bit warm.

He could sleep through the cold easily enough, but it was always better to be warm.

* * *

_My ass hurts so bad right now._

_I never expected that from shinigami. It's the simplest method to break someone, though, so I guess I should have. Not that they'd dirty themselves with touching my body. No, they used toys and shit. Toys, hah. Toys for a masochist._

_Ichigo would probably say it serves me right. No, what am I thinking? He'd be appalled and pissed. He'd demand they stop, because he doesn't do shit like this. That would be kinda funny too, considering what I did to him…_

_No, still not laughing._

_I still hate these chains. My arms are burning, my knees are hurting, my hair is sticking to my face and it itches. I hate the fucking itches. It's like another torture, not being able to scratch. At least they're letting me get some sleep now. Guess they were worried I might die if they didn't. Shinigami can die from lack of sleep, I wonder if an arrancar can? Probably. The clown faced bastard would know._

_I want to see Kurosaki again. I want to rub my face over him and lick his skin. I want to know he's okay. He wouldn't understand why, but I still want it. So fucking funny._

_Not laughing…_

* * *

"Rise and shine, beautiful." Grimmjow aimed a kick at the sleeping bundle, grinning as Ichigo made a small sound of protest. Thin daylight was oozing through the bars of the window, but none of it was hitting the teen. "I have your breakfast, dumbass. You gonna eat or should I feed it to the lizards?" That got Kurosaki to move a bit, and wary brown eyes peeked out from under the blanket. "Or eat it myself. This shit smells good." Grimmjow licked his lips, glancing down at the tray in his hands. It was human food, the stuff Aizen and his pet shinigami ate, so it wouldn't do much for him. But it still smelled delicious.

"No." Ichigo growled as he pushed himself out of the blanket, keeping it around his waist, then regarded the fabric in confusion before glancing at Grimmjow's sleeping mat. He saw the surprise and confusion as the teen realized where his blanket had come from, but Kurosaki took the tray without saying anything about it. "Eggs and bacon?" Ichigo questioned and Grimmjow shrugged.

"And tea. I'd'a gotten you coffee, but those bastards don't drink it and Szayel said if I keep raiding his supply, he'll use me for a guinea pig." For some reason, the crazy scientist was addicted to coffee. Probably a holdover from his living days. Ichigo nodded and began to tuck into the scrambled eggs. Grimmjow knew he couldn't cook, so he'd just scrambled them and hoped quantity would make up for quality. There were five eggs in there. Taking a seat on his mat he watched the teen eat, sipping his tea.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ichigo said uneasily, the edge of his hunger blunted. Grimmjow shrugged, taking another sip of the tea.

"I like looking at you." He said, completely truthfully. Ichigo looked stunned for a moment before giving him a look of anger and disgust.

"Stay away from me, you bastard!" He said with an attempt at a growl and Grimmjow sneered. He'd done better growls than that, back when it was his turn.

"Just eat, Kurosaki." Grimmjow looked up at the window, letting the brat eat in peace. Then he grunted and fished under the mat for a moment, pulling out a battered old magazine and opening it. He caught Ichigo giving him an odd look and grinned. "What, you thought I couldn't read?"

"Um, no. But why are you reading an automotive magazine?" Ichigo asked and Grimmjow shrugged, looking at the pages.

"I like cars." He said briefly and grinned to himself at the look on the shinigami's face. It looked like he was frying some brain cells trying to get his mind around that. "Too bad this place doesn't have any cars. I could do some wicked shit with an engine like that." Grimmjow gazed at the pictures. Sometimes, his hands almost itched when he looked at magazines like this. It was a holdover from his living days, or maybe one of the souls he'd eaten had more personality than most. "Not that it could move faster than my Sonido, so I guess there isn't much point." That left him feeling vaguely discontented, but he shrugged off the feeling and turned to one of the articles. He'd read them all before, it wasn't like he had a magazine subscription, but it was still a way to pass the time. He glanced up to see Ichigo staring at him like he was a new and unsettling species before the teen went back to his food.

Finally the scrape of fork against plate came to an end and Grimmjow glanced up as the teen set down his plate. For a moment he debated just leaving to start his day, but then Kurosaki shifted and the blanket slid down a little, revealing a bit of orange hair before he grabbed it and pulled it back up. The sight kindled his hunger and, decided, he smiled before coming to his feet and pulling off his jacket again. Kurosaki's eyes went wide as the pants came off too.

"Grimmjow… my ass really hurts…" Kurosaki said with a hint of desperation. Grimmjow snorted, kneeling beside him and gripping the shinigami's chin.

"Yeah, it would, Mr. Ex-Virgin." He teased and was pleased to see the kid blushing. "But there's a lot of ways to have sex. This won't hurt a bit… unless you want it to. Do I need to pin you down or are you good?" That seemed to remind Kurosaki that his wrists were free and the kid suddenly tried to punch him. "Okay then."

With the collar rendering him almost powerless, Ichigo really didn't stand a chance. Soon Grimmjow had his arms locked behind him again and Kurosaki growled, then gasped as he took hold of the kid's cock. He was half-hard already, and a bit of oil hastened the process. Firm, smooth strokes soon had the teen keening softly and arching into the arrancar's hands.

"What… what… oh!" Kurosaki jerked as Grimmjow rubbed their erections together, and began to stroke them both at once. The delicious feel of flesh against flesh, the friction softened with oil, was absolutely wonderful. Grimmjow buried his face against the kid's neck, enjoying the heady, masculine scent of his chosen mate. "Fuck… you…" Kurosaki managed to gasp out and Grimmjow chuckled, letting the teen feel the vibration against his skin.

"They always say that…" He said, echoing the words that had been said to him, so long ago. Kurosaki opened his mouth to say something, but Grimmjow silenced him with an open mouthed kiss, sticking his tongue into the teen's mouth. Kurosaki promptly bit him and he enjoyed the pain and the taste of blood. He hummed in pleasure and increased the pace of the stroking. Ichigo gagged and let go as blood filled his mouth. "What, don't like the taste of blood? I fucking love it." Grimmjow groaned as he felt Ichigo's cock twitch in his hand, and saw the handsome boy under him tense and moan, his orgasm coming on quickly. The sight of his lover about to come sent a jolt of exquisite pleasure to his loins, and Grimmjow felt his balls tighten before his own orgasm hit him in a wave of pleasure. Kurosaki cried out as he released, and they came together, spilling most of it across the teen's chest.

"I… hate you…" Ichigo's voice was wavering and Grimmjow wondered if he would cry again. But it didn't matter. He nuzzled the shinigami's throat again, gently nipping the skin and lapping at a few beads of blood.

"Yeah, I know. But the way you say it is gonna change, Kurosaki. Take my word for it." Grimmjow grinned, pulling away from the spent teen. "Go take a shower. I can wait until you're done." Kurosaki needed it more, and he didn't think the kid would be willing to let them shower together. He wasn't going to leave his mate with drying semen all over him while he showered, either. Ichigo sniffed then bolted for the bathroom, giving him just a glimpse of a sweet ass before he vanished into the shower. Grimmjow laughed and lay back on his mat, listening to the water running.

He was looking forward to his own shower.

* * *

_I told them everything today._

_I'm not sure why. It's hard to say, this is what did it. It was just… everything. The drugs, the pain, the sleep deprivation, the rapes… I lost it. I told the woman everything she wanted to know, and answered her questions. I thought I was so tough, and maybe I was. I should ask her if I broke a record._

_I'm not sure how long they've been working on me. Too long. I'm still in chains and I still hate them. I wish I thought things were going to get better now, but there's just no way. It'll be the scientist now. Fucking bastard. Not all of his shit hurts, though. Maybe I'll get lucky for a while. Maybe. Maybe not, too._

_I want to see Kurosaki, but I can't tell him that. The fucker would want to know why, and the stupid kid doesn't even understand what I did or why I did it. It would put him in danger if they knew._

_And I can't have that._

* * *

"You are a fool, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra's voice was emotionless as always, but there was clear disapproval in his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, you've told me that a lot. What's it to you?" Grimmjow said, bored and annoyed. There wasn't anything around for him to kill, and Aizen didn't have any good missions for him, so he was in a holding pattern. That was nice in a way, Kurosaki was close at hand for tension relief, but he was starting to think he'd welcome a food run to get out and about. And he normally hated that shit.

"Does Aizen even understand what he gave you permission to do?" He asked quietly and that question set Grimmjow back on his heels. He'd phrased it pretty crudely, but he didn't think Aizen could have misunderstood. Was he wrong about that, though? Grimmjow's eyes narrowed as he replayed the encounter in his mind. Ulquiorra just waited and watched as the less than intellectual sixth Espada worked it through.

"Maybe he doesn't." Grimmjow finally allowed. "But if he had, maybe he would have said no. And I want to do this." He said and Ulquiorra closed his eyes for a moment.

"That is very foolish. Your instincts will push you to do something rash." He cautioned and Grimmjow frowned. Ulquiorra was right, but he still didn't need the advice.

"Whatever. I'll be fine." He said indifferently. The other Espada walked away, just giving up. A very Ulquiorra thing to do. Grimmjow drummed his fingers against his thigh for a moment then set off purposefully, towards his own quarters. It was time for some tension relief. Kurosaki's ass should be feeling better, it was time to enjoy him again.

And oh, he was going to.

* * *

_I almost managed to escape today._

_I don't give up, ever. Ulquiorra would say I'm a stupid fucking beast, but I don't care. I don't give up._

_One of the guards got careless today. I don't think I killed him, but I did strangle him unconscious before I stole the keys. For the first time in a long time, I got out of those chains. Too bad I couldn't get the collar off. There was no key for that, so all I had was my hands and feet and determination._

_It wasn't enough. I'm back in the chains again, but I still feel better. I'm not some broken torture toy. I'm still alive and kicking._

_I'll get out of here. Somehow._

* * *

Grimmjow opened one eye at the sound of quiet sobbing.

He'd thought Kurosaki was getting past that. It had been a few weeks since Aizen had let him keep the kid as a private toy. Tonight they'd had sex, and it had been good. He hadn't needed to lock down the shinigami's hands this time, and Kurosaki's fingers had torn up his back as he'd returned the favor. He hadn't cried during the act. He hadn't cried for days.

But now he was, and Grimmjow could guess why. He was disgusted at himself for giving in. Sick at himself for giving up. The Espada knew exactly how that felt, and that meant it was time for him to do something about it.

Grimmjow slipped out from under the blanket so smoothly and quietly that Ichigo didn't know he was there until he wrapped his arms around the teen. He gently soothed the marks on Kurosaki's back with his tongue as the shinigami jerked with a gasp.

"Why are you doing this to me? Why?" Ichigo sounded like he was about to cry again and Grimmjow frowned. That wasn't something he had experience with, a question like that. A hollow wouldn't need to ask. It was just too fucking obvious.

"Because you're strong, Kurosaki. You're strong, and if I dominate you, I have everything I need." Grimmjow gauged the look on the kid's face and sighed to himself at the confusion. Ichigo didn't get it at all. "You want to know how I feel about you? Shit like that?" Kurosaki seemed to think about it for a moment then nodded hesitantly. "Words, wind, bullshit. I'm no good with words. I like show and tell better." Ichigo's eyes widened but Grimmjow ignored it, sweeping the blanket away and running a hand over a tight, lovely abdomen. Even after being cooped up for weeks, Ichigo was still looking wonderful as hell.

But this wasn't about what he wanted and it wasn't about his pleasure. It was about Kurosaki's pleasure and Grimmjow lowered his face until he was breathing against that soft skin and firm flesh. He gently lapped at the boy's navel, enjoying the taste of salt and the warm, masculine scent that he'd come to identify as Kurosaki. He slowly worked his way down, assaulting every inch of flesh with his tongue and lips before reaching his goal. The teen was at half-mast, and a few slow, seductive licks got him fully upright. Then Grimmjow ducked his head beneath, gently sucking on his warm sac.

"G-Grimmjow – ah – " Kurosaki groaned and fingers tangled in soft blue hair. "Wh-What are you – oh!" He went back to the kid's pride and joy, gripping the base and treating it like an ice cream cone he really wanted to eat. No, a pretty strawberry lollipop. He could lick it all off. "Grimmjow!" Ichigo sounded breathy now, undone by the pleasure. It was a wonderful sound and he responded by taking Kurosaki's cock into his mouth, as far back into his throat as he could. "Agh!" The kid arched and nearly choked him, until Grimmjow gripped his hip, holding him still. Tossing his cookies all over the brat would not be remotely sexy.

He slowly sucked, torturing Ichigo with the sensations. His throat was hot and tight, and from the kid's whimpers and gasps it was one of the best things he'd ever felt. Grimmjow hummed softly, letting the vibration torment his mate. Kurosaki surged up against his hold and Grimmjow gagged, but managed to take him in all the way. It hurt and it was a little hard to breath, but he didn't care. This wasn't about him.

When the kid came, it was fast and unexpected. Grimmjow almost choked again before managing to swallow it, milking the kid for everything he had. When he was sure Kurosaki was done he pulled away, breathing hard and wiping off his lips. He looked up and met confused, glazed brown eyes and sat up, leaning over to give the shinigami a kiss. It was deep and lingering and he was sure Kurosaki could taste his own semen on his lips.

Grimmjow was half-hard from the spectacle and Ichigo paled as he glanced down and saw it, but the Espada just patted him on the head and lay back down on the mat, facing away and pulling the blanket over himself. There was a confused silence behind him and he smiled to himself before dropping off to sleep.

This was progressing nicely.

* * *

_The drugs are killing me. Literally._

_I stopped breathing today. I couldn't draw a breath, and it was fucking horrible. I was panicking and trying so hard to pull it in, but I just couldn't. Then that bastard put a mask over my face, getting some kind of machine to do it for me. He must've been expecting it. Clown faced fucker._

_It's getting to the point where I almost want to die. Not quite, I still have some life left in me, but… almost. I wonder if I could find a way to kill myself. I'd have to get free again and they're being pretty damn careful after last time._

_At least I can sleep. Clown face isn't doing any 'endurance testing' these days. Not sure what he is getting out of the experiments and I really don't care. He's another like fucking Szayel, loves to hear the sound of his own voice. Unfortunately, he can talk and experiment at the same time. So I'd rather not listen to the fucker._

_Kurosaki, where are you? I saved that bitch for you. Can't you do anything for me? Even a quick death? Ah, he probably doesn't even know I'm here._

_And I can't let clown face know he'd care._

* * *

It wasn't totally chance that Grimmjow overheard the conversation.

Ulquiorra's warning had gotten to him more than he wanted to admit. So he'd taken to lurking around, keeping an eye on what Aizen and his pet shinigami were up to. So he happened to overhear them discussing Ichigo's eventual fate.

"…Should be nicely broken by now, with that beast Grimmjow raping him every day. What are you planning for him, Aizen?" That was Gin talking and Grimmjow's eyes narrowed. He wanted to snap the bastards neck. He sure as hell didn't understand what the Espada was up to.

"He should be almost lost to despair by now. I think I'll have to reclaim him from Grimmjow soon, and begin his transformation into an arrancar. I'm sure the Espada will be insufferable about it." Aizen sounded bored at the thought and Grimmjow ground his teeth together in frustration. Ulquiorra had been right. The bastard didn't understand a fucking thing.

"Just offer him a replacement. I bet the idiot would like Abarai Renji, and a mere fukutaichou wouldn't be too hard to catch." Grimmjow had heard enough. Making a snap decision, he walked out purposefully, towards the storage lockers. He needed to get some stuff.

He spent all day making his preparations. If anyone had been watching, it would have been obvious what he was up to, but everyone thought of him as a hot headed idiot. Planning wasn't supposed to be in his vocabulary. Ichigo looked at him curiously as he came in several times and dumped stuff on the floor, but the kid didn't question him, just flipping through his automotive magazine.

"Okay." Grimmjow looked out the window. It was nighttime, and most of the arrancar would be asleep. Not Ulquiorra, but he was pretty sure the bat would look away. "Come here, Kurosaki." The teen hesitated a moment but then gripped the blanket, using it to shield his nakedness as he walked over. He'd never bothered to get the shinigami any new clothes, and that still seemed to bother him. Grimmjow just snorted in amusement and reached out, unsnapping the collar in one quick move.

"Wh-what?!" Ichigo looked at the collar on the ground wide eyed, then blinked as his sword appeared in his hand. For one moment Grimmjow thought the strawberry was going to attack him, but Ichigo just gave him a look of shock and confusion. "Why?" He sounded completely lost and Grimmjow grinned at the expression.

"It's a prison break. Isn't it obvious, Kurosaki?" He opened one of the bundles and tossed the shinigami some clothes. They were generic Espada uniforms, meant for the numeros. Ichigo looked at the white cloth like he couldn't believe it was for him. "C'mon, put it on. Unless you like being naked now."

"Shut up." Ichigo muttered before turning away and dropping the blanket. A useless effort, since it gave Grimmjow a beautiful view of some stunning ass cheeks. But he was too busy to appreciate it anyway, gathering up his meager possessions. "Why would you help me get out? Is this some kind of trick?" Kurosaki asked and Grimmjow snorted.

"No fucking trick. Why would I need to trick you?" Grimmjow looked at the teen for a moment, wondering if he would understand. Probably not. "Aizen's going to turn you into an arrancar soon." Ichigo flinched. "He thinks I'll have 'broken you in'. He doesn't understand shit. He'd have to torture the living shit out of you, and he'd do it. I'm not going to let that happen. You belong to me, not him, and I don't let go of my things."

"I don't belong to you!" The teen flared and Grimmjow wanted to roll his eyes. "I belong to myself, you asshole!"

"You can belong to yourself and me at the same time, dumbass. Now come on." He tossed a bag over to Ichigo who looked at it in confusion. "That's food and crap, in case it takes a while to get you to safety. Now are you ready or not?"

"Wait, what about Orihime? I came here to save her!" Ichigo protested and Grimmjow grit his teeth with a small hiss. That… was bad. Ulquiorra would look away from him escaping with his own mate, but the bat would damn well not look away if he tried to get the woman. She was his responsibility. On the other hand, would Ulquiorra expect Grimmjow to go after her? Not a fucking chance. He might think Kurosaki would, though.

"This is giving me a headache." He muttered, rubbing his head. All that thinking. "Look, she's being well treated. Aizen has uses for her and Ulquiorra looks after her. If we try to get her out and the bat catches us, all the Espada will be onto us like a pack of rats. And Ulqui could probably do for us himself." Grimmjow took one look at Ichigo and realized he was wasting his breath. The kid had that way too familiar, focused, stubborn expression. The one that kind of reminded him of himself. "You are a fucking idiot and you're going to get us both killed." Grimmjow lamented, but he somehow couldn't be angry about it. That kind of idiocy was definitely his thing. "Fine, we'll go get her. But she better not be your girl or I'm going to be pissed." Kurosaki blushed then and muttered some quick and sincere denials. That assuaged Grimmjow's momentary jealousy and he grinned before ruffling the teen's hair. Kurosaki slapped his hand away with a scowl.

"You're so weird. I don't understand you at all, but I'll take your help." The teen said quietly and blue eyes met brown. Grimmjow shivered to himself at the intense feeling in those drowning brown eyes. "You'll have to explain this to me later. And no more show and tell."

"Yeah? How about pictograms?" Grimmjow pulled out a white cloak and tossed it to Ichigo, who pulled it on and put the hood over his hair. That pleased the Espada. The teen clearly understood that his neon orange hair would attract attention.

"They'd be obscene." Kurosaki muttered as they left the room. "Can you take these bracelets off?" He offered Grimmjow a wrist and the Espada blinked.

"Oh yeah." He took them off, but put them in his pocket. Unlike the collar, which Kurosaki would never put on again willingly, these little things could have some nice uses. "Now come on, let's go get the woman."

"Her name is Orihime." Kurosaki sounded offended and Grimmjow did roll his eyes.

"Whatever, don't care." They walked in silence then and he was glad. They didn't need to be babbling the whole way.

Sneaking past Ulquiorra was going to be tough enough as it was.


	2. Going Out With a Bang

Grimmjow peered around the corner carefully.

"Grimmjow." Said a voice behind him. He hissed to himself as Ichigo tugged on his jacket. "You do know where you're going, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, shut up. I told you, Ulqui's got ears like a bat." He mumbled back before slouching out, hands in his pockets and a sullen expression. It was the kind of attitude that would make Numeros avoid him. When they weren't sneaking, Grimmjow had decided that 'pissed off' was a good tactic. Kurosaki stayed close to his back, keeping his head down.

The lack of doors probably sucked for the woman's privacy, not that Grimmjow cared. It sure was useful now, though. He managed to scope out the room before stepping inside, and Ulquiorra wasn't there. Maybe he was off on a mission, if they were lucky. He did like to work at night.

"Hey, woman." Grimmjow said gruffly as Orihime turned to him with a deer in the headlights look. He could feel Kurosaki tense behind him and sighed to himself. "Orihime, I mean. Whatever. Come here." She hesitated then stepped towards him. A rough, large hand suddenly slapped over her mouth and Grimmjow pulled her close. "Shhh. Don't say anything." He murmured so quietly, even Ulquiorra might not have heard. Behind him, Ichigo flipped down his hood for a moment and Orihime's eyes went even wider. "C'mon." He let go of her face and Orihime smiled, eyes bright as she looked at Ichigo. Grimmjow privately hated that look. She might not be his girl, but he wondered if Orihime knew that.

"Y-Yes." She whispered as quietly as he had, gathering up her skirts in both hands. Grimmjow decided that as soon as they were far enough away, he was going to rip those things off. They were pretty and all, but how could she run in them? Although if it came down to running she was dead anyway. No Sonido or even flash step.

"Orihime? Oh! I didn't know you had visitors – Grimmjow-sama!" The little Numero carrying a plate of food bowed and nearly spilled it as Grimmjow scowled at her. He thanked his lucky stars that Ichigo had flipped his hood back up as he took the tray.

"Yeah, I'll make sure she eats. You get lost." The Numero paled at his tone and babbled out apologies before high-tailing it out. Grimmjow dumped the tray on the table, stealing a sweet cake and munching it. "Where did he get cakes? Bastard's been holding out on us. Eat a little, woman. Don't imitate a bird." Grimmjow glanced at the doorway. They needed to give the Numero a bit of time to get away, if she saw them leaving, well… Orihime seemed to understand and took a cake, eating it slowly. When she was done Grimmjow led them out the door.

The rest was easy. Ulquiorra had to be off doing something, and all the other Espada were asleep or jacking off. There were plenty of Numeros, but they sure as hell weren't going to stop and question an Espada. Grimmjow grinned a little to himself. Aizen's security was pretty good… but it didn't do much against treachery. His grin faded as he thought about why, but he shoved the thought aside. He'd deal with that shit later.

As soon as they were safely away, he opened a garganta and hurried them through. Someone would sense that, sure as shit, and not just the arrancar. The fucking shinigami would sense it too, so the clock was ticking.

"Where we going?" He asked the two of them as Ichigo pulled the hood off his white cloak. They were in the middle of Karakura town, and while he'd been here before, Grimmjow had no idea where they were at exactly.

"We should probably go to Kisuke's. He can keep Orihime safe." Ichigo said and Grimmjow nodded. Aizen probably wouldn't be willing to launch an all-out attack on that guy, and as he was pretty sure he didn't really need the woman anymore anyway. Although he would still be pissed about losing her like this.

"I have no fucking idea where I am, so lead the way." Ichigo nodded and took point. Orihime was a little out of breath when they finally reached the place, and Grimmjow could feel an itching sensation between his shoulder blades. He was sure no one was watching him, but he could feel doom closing in. This was all taking too damn long. "Is this it? Because I have to run, like, right the fuck now." Grimmjow glanced around nervously. He was starting to feel something that felt like shinigami, and it wasn't just Ichigo. Then a hand touched his arm and he blinked, looking back and meeting brown eyes.

"Grimmjow… thank you." Ichigo hesitated a moment, then hugged him roughly. Grimmjow returned it, pleased at the gesture. "Are you going to be okay?" There was a shadow in Kurosaki's eyes and some serious worry in his voice. He was clearly starting to think and realize how hopeless things were for the Espada.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Grimmjow lied. He knew he was fucked. He couldn't stay in the living world, there was nothing for him to eat here without Szayel's condensed spirit energy pills. Soul Society was out too. He'd have to eat a lot of souls there, or powerful ones, like fukutaichou level. He didn't know how many fukutaichou were running around, but it wouldn't be enough. And he didn't like eating humans and plus souls anyway. They cried and ran and had kids and shit. Hollows, he at least knew damn well they would have eaten him if they could. It felt a lot better, eating something that was willing to eat him right back. So that meant his only option was Hueco Mundo. And with Aizen and all the other Espada after him, that option sucked balls. But it was the best he had. "I just have to get going before your shinigami friends show up. Later, Kurosaki." There would be no later and they both knew it. Grimmjow saw it in the hurt realization in Ichigo's eyes.

"Later, Grimmjow." The teen said quietly and Grimmjow could feel his eyes on him as he took off before he ducked into an alleyway. He was trying to mask his reiatsu as much as possible, and get away from Ichigo and Orihime. Opening the garganta right in front of the shop would let Aizen know where they were, and he didn't really want the shinigami to know either.

Once he felt he was safe, he began opening the garganta. But it wasn't an instantaneous process, and he could feel something closing in on him.

_Come on come on come on…_ He growled to himself as he tore the garganta wider. He was just about to take a step inside when he heard the voice.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura." Sakura petals lashed at him and Grimmjow swore as the garganta snapped shut. They weren't like the seikamon the shinigami used, they required attention and willpower. _Too late._ He whirled to meet the threat. His only option now was to defeat the shinigami so he'd have the peace he needed to open the garganta.

"Fuck." He muttered to himself as he realized it wasn't just the black haired noble bastard. It was his fukutaichou, that Abarai Renji guy Aizen had thought about giving to him. And a white haired kid with alarming reiatsu was there, along with a girl who had boobs to rival Orihime. "Fucking great." He was going to get reamed. There were too many of them. He drew his sword. "Grind, Pantera!" If he was going out, he'd go out with a bang.

And there were a lot of bangs involved. Grimmjow grinned as he put the woman through a building, and wondered how the shinigami would convince the humans the damage had happened. Then he regretted losing his focus, as the stupid ice from the white haired brat slammed into him. He took out a street light on the way down before cratering the pavement. Pulling himself up, he swore and shook the blood off his face. His hierro wasn't protecting him fully against these bastards.

"Ban kai!" Grimmjow cursed as the red haired bastard shot some kind of fanged serpent at him. What the fuck was that? He dodged and fired his spines at the cretin, who dodged them… but one of them hit the white haired kid, pretty much by accident. The rest detonated in the air. Then the serpent tried to coil around him and he screamed as fangs latched onto his shoulder.

"Fuck you you fucking fuck!" He screamed before burying his fist right into the thing's head. The bones exploded and the serpent thing screamed before letting go. Then a blow hit him from behind, hard, and he was falling. He managed to get a grip on himself quicker this time, and Grimmjow saw it had been the big titty bitch. He attacked her, driving her back and slashing her chest, sending blood flying. Then he had to parry a blast of pink stuff from the grey eyed bastard.

It was hopeless, he knew it was hopeless, but he was just too damned dumb and stubborn to quit. His left arm wasn't working right anymore and blood was scalding his side, but he went after the grey-eyed noble with murder in his heart. He gave the bastard a good hit, too, before a dozen pink blades plunged into his body.

"Argh!" Grimmjow coughed and gagged on his own blood, spitting out a mouthful onto the shinigami's scarf. It was a petty victory, but the annoyance on that pretty face was worth something before ice and bone ganged up on him and sent him down onto a rooftop.

The landing was ugly, if you could even call it a landing. He skidded across the surface and lay gasping, eyes closed in pain as his resurreccion slowly vanished, his sword reappearing beside him. Forcing his eyes open, he gripped the hilt of the blade and began to force himself up. There was blood everywhere, splattered on the concrete and he glanced down quickly at his left arm before looking away. He could see the bone. He wouldn't be using it for at least a week, and he didn't have a week. He didn't have an hour.

Grimmjow looked up as the shinigami landed across from him. The woman was missing and he took a bit of pride in the fact that he'd taken her out of the fight. The others were looking pretty damn rough, too, especially the white haired kid. The red haired fukutaichou had some nice bruises and bloody wounds, but the damned noble was mostly untouched. Grimmjow wished him luck getting the blood out of his scarf, though, and a grin twisted his lips. Then he raised his sword, even though his hand was shaking and he couldn't catch his breath.

"It's over. Surrender, arrancar." The noble said calmly and Grimmjow laughed before spitting out another mouthful of blood at his feet.

"Come closer so I can bite you." He growled and the guy just looked at him with those calm grey eyes. Reminded him of Ulquiorra. Fucking jackass.

"Way of Binding 63: Chain Bonds." He said and Grimmjow hissed a vile curse as he tried to evade the kido. It was hopeless and he was yanked to his knees, his arms pinned to his sides with golden chains. The grey eyed bastard walked up to him, sword in hand.

_Is this it?_ Grimmjow felt weirdly calm as he met those calm grey eyes. He could tell this shinigami would kill him and not feel a moment of remorse. Kind of like a hollow, really. _At least I'll die the way I lived, spitting and kicking defiance at the world._ He smiled at the thought and did his best to break free of the kido, surging against the bonds. Then his eyes widened as the shinigami lifted his empty hand.

"Forced slumber."

_No!_ Grimmjow's mind and will screamed rebellion, but his weakened body could not resist the kido. He slumped in the chains, head spinning as his soul screamed.

Then there was nothing but darkness and dreams.

* * *

_Today has been a very strange day._

_He's been testing hypnotic techniques on me, and it's pretty fucking funny. Because apparently, I am as easy to hypnotize as a rock. Ulquiorra would say I don't have enough working brain cells for it. I wonder if Aizen had this problem with me?_

_For once, I really am laughing. Clown faced bastard doesn't seem to mind though. Oh great, he's going to try drugs to lower my resistance._

_Fuck my life._

* * *

"Kurosaki Ichigo." Ichigo looked up, surprised, as Byakuya walked into Kisuke's shop. Orihime was ensconced in a chair and drinking tea, waiting for the shopkeeper to come back with some normal clothing. Byakuya looked him over with a small frown and Ichigo blushed faintly as he realized he was still wearing the arrancar uniform Grimmjow had given him. "You're looking surprisingly well." There was an odd note to his voice and Ichigo frowned at him.

"They hadn't gotten around to doing much with me yet." Ichigo said, not entirely truthfully. But his feelings about Grimmjow were just too confused for him to mention what had happened to anyone, let alone Byakuya Kuchiki. Renji came in behind his taichou and Ichigo flashed him a quick smile before noticing the bruises. "Had a rough time with a hollow?" He was glad Grimmjow had gotten away before they showed up. There would have been one hell of a fight, otherwise.

It didn't occur to Ichigo that being within Kisuke's defenses, and with his own poor reiatsu sensing, he could have missed the fight occurring.

"Yeah, he was a tough bastard. Ichigo, we thought you died!" Renji gave him a rough hug and Ichigo squeaked before pounding his shoulder. "You look pretty good for being trapped by Aizen for weeks. How'd you manage it? And how'd you escape?" From the way Byakuya was looking at him, he wanted an answer to that too. Ichigo wondered uneasily about how Aizen usually treated prisoners.

"Well, he just didn't have time for me." He prevaricated. It might be close to true, since he'd let Grimmjow start. "But… he was going to turn me into an arrancar. One of the Espada helped me escape." Ichigo couldn't help the slight sadness in his voice. He'd been thinking since he'd gone into the shop, and he'd realized that Grimmjow had to be in a terrible spot now. He couldn't understand why the Espada had done it. He dropped his gaze to the ground and missed Byakuya's momentary pause, and the widening of Renj's eyes.

"Which Espada was it?" Byakuya asked softly and Ichigo blinked, looking up. He hesitated a moment but Aizen would know anyway, so maybe the information could help Grimmjow, at least a bit.

"Grimmjow, the sixth Espada." Ichigo shrugged. "He didn't seem to like the idea of me being tortured into an arrancar." There was a soft gasp and Ichigo looked at Renji. "Renji, is something wrong?"

"Uh, nothing." He said quickly and Ichigo frowned. But before he could pursue whatever this was, Byakuya spoke again.

"We will have to ensure that Orihime is well guarded, but you have done well, Kurosaki. Rest and recover." Byakuya said and Ichigo nodded, turning his attention back to Orihime. She was too pale and thin, despite the food they had been giving her. The two shinigami left, and he completely dismissed them from his mind.

"Taichou… what should we do?" Renji said in a low tone and Byakuya flicked him a glance.

"He is already being delivered to the 2nd Division and the 12th." Byakuya said softly and Renji winced, glancing down at the blood on his clothes. They'd all assumed Grimmjow had come to attack Ichigo's remaining friends, or cause some other chaos.

"But it's not right. He saved Ichigo and Orihime. Isn't there anything we can do?" Renji asked and, to his shock, Byakuya stopped walking and put a hand on his shoulder. Grey eyes met cinnamon, and they held a surprising amount of compassion. But also a strong resolve.

"No. He has information that could be critical to our success against Aizen, and he will not share it willingly. If he was interested in doing that he would have surrendered." Byakuya said and Renji had to admit he had a point. "And he is a hollow, a corrupted soul. When the time comes I will do my best to ensure he has a painless death, but that is all we can do."

"Yes taichou." Renji wanted to disagree, wanted to do something for the strong, brave warrior they had fought, but he knew in his head that Byakuya was right. The information the Espada had might be critical. "We're not going to tell Ichigo?"

"No. It would only hurt him." That was true too, and Renji sighed to himself. He hoped the kid wouldn't hate them when he finally found out. He would feel indebted to the Espada, and Ichigo had such a strong urge to protect.

But there was really nothing he could do.

* * *

_I think I did something really bad today._

_I wasn't going to tell them about Kurosaki, about what I did with him. Shinigami bastards would kill him for fucking a hollow. Well, not for being raped by one, they're not that crazy. But was it really rape at the end? I don't think so. Rape wasn't the point of the whole thing, and Kurosaki was starting to figure that out._

_But today… it was more 'endurance testing'. That's what he calls it. I call it torture, fucking sadistic torture with no damned point. He just wants to see how far he can push me, how long I can survive something. Too long, I'm too fucking strong. Do I want to die? Not yet, but… fuck. Fuck the bastard, I swear I will kill him._

_I lost my mind though, somewhere in it. Started babbling about Kurosaki. I don't know what I said, but I have a bad feeling I said too much. I think he asked me some questions but I can't remember what I answered. Shit… I feel so fucking weak! If I get free again I'm going to kill myself._

_Not because I want to die, but because I have to protect him._

* * *

Grimmjow looked up with a snarl as the door to his cell opened. Then his eyes widened as he saw someone he'd thought he would never see again.

"Grimmjow?" Ichigo sounded disbelieving as he looked over the Espada. Grimmjow followed his gaze, actually looking at the state of his body for the first time in over a month. He was still strong, but covered in scars, bruises and half-healed wounds of various sorts. Mostly needle holes and burns, these days. "What have they done to you? Damn it! Why didn't you say something about me sooner?" Ichigo snapped, sounding pissed as hell. It was a pretty familiar tone and it almost brought tears to his eyes, but the Espada refused to cry like a pussy.

"Huh?" Grimmjow had no idea why Ichigo was pissed, though. "Because I was worried they might kill you for fucking me, dumbass. Even if you didn't want to. How are you here?" Clearly, someone had talked to Ichigo about what he'd said under torture. But why were they letting the kid in his cell? And Ichigo wasn't in chains, so it looked like he wasn't going to be joining the arrancar in this hellhole. That was strange.

"I'm getting you out of here." Ichigo growled, producing a set of keys. "You wouldn't believe what I had to go through, and that bastard Kurotsuchi insisted on running two more tests on you," Grimmjow shuddered to himself as he remembered the last two sessions. They'd been bad ones. "But they agreed to drop the charges and let me have custody of you."

"Custody? I'm confused." Grimmjow growled as Ichigo unlocked the chains, but left the collar. "Hey, aren't you taking this off?" He really wanted that collar off. But Kurosaki shook his head.

"No, you'd do something stupid." The shinigami said and Grimmjow rolled his eyes, but privately admitted he was right. He was dying to do something stupid as hell.

"Is killing that clown faced fucker stupid? Because I want to do it so bad." He growled and winced as Ichigo slapped his shoulder.

"I know how you feel, but that would be bad. Look, it's going to be like this." Ichigo took a deep breath and Grimmjow frowned at him, waiting for the shinigami to explain as he rubbed his wrists, then finally got to give his hair a good scratch. It had been so long since he could scratch. "Most of what you've done was against me, personally. So I convinced them that I could keep an eye on you, and with what you did for me, they're willing to give you a second chance. They're going to put you in a special gigai that will gradually change you into a spiritually powerful human like me." Grimmjow found himself speechless at the prospect. A human? Him?

"Why in hell would the shinigami agree to this?" It went against everything they stood for. They sent impure souls like him on, why would they agree to turn an arrancar into a human? "What's in it for them?" He asked, suddenly suspicious.

"It was a pretty drawn out fight." Ichigo admitted. "I've been arguing with them for three days. Kurotsuchi actually helped, because he wants to see if his new gigai will work." Grimmjow's eyes narrowed and he cursed to himself. So he wouldn't be able to kill the clown faced fucker? Great. "Um, I might have made some threats. And after what happened with Rukia, I don't think they thought I was bluffing."

"This is all crazy as fuck. But if you think I'm going to turn it down, you're wrong." Grimmjow made his decision quickly. He wasn't looking forward to being human, but he was looking forward to more torture a lot less. He could figure out human. And… "Will there be cars?" He asked hopefully and Ichigo choked on a laugh.

"Yeah, there will be a lot of cars. Can you walk?" He asked and Grimmjow grunted, pulling himself to his feet. He wasn't sure how long he'd been in here, but he was only a bit weaker than normal, physically.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Lead the way." He'd do anything to get out of this place. And a curious part of him was wondering what living in the Living World would be like.

It was interesting.


	3. Storytime and Silent Sex

Grimmjow sighed as he lay down on his mat and tried to sleep.

It had been a mind-numbing day. He'd been pulled out of his cell by Kurosaki, stuffed into a really weird gigai by the clown-faced freak, and then introduced to Kurosaki's family. Apparently, he'd told them enough about the escape that they were willing to put him up but not so much that his father would skin him alive. At least, Grimmjow assumed that would be the reaction if Isshin knew. Sixteen was apparently still a cub, although Grimmjow couldn't get his mind around that very easily. How could someone like Ichigo be reckoned a cub? Crazy.

Getting used to the gigai was an incredible chore. He'd tried to fly once and ended up flat on his face with Kurosaki laughing hysterically. He'd tried to punch the kid and gotten tripped and sat on for his trouble. His gigai was strong and fast, for a human, but he just wasn't used to it. And the lack of hierro was a complete pain in the ass. His bruises hurt.

It was a good thing that he was used to sleeping on a mat on the floor, because the only place for him to bed down was Kurosaki's room. Grimmjow was a bit shocked that the kid would let him be so close, but considering his powers were sealed away and he still hadn't gotten the hang of this body, maybe he wasn't worried much. Grimmjow growled to himself and glanced over at the bed. He was surprised to meet open brown eyes. He'd thought Ichigo was asleep.

"I know what you're thinking about trying." He said softly and Grimmjow felt a shiver up his spine. The words sounded… intimate. "Leave it be, Grimmjow. You need some sleep and I need to ask you some questions tomorrow. And no show and tell or pictograms."

"Fuck, what about charades?" Grimmjow sighed as Kurosaki gave him a scorching look. "Fine, fine, I'll do my best. Jackass."

"Jerk." Came the quiet reply and Grimmjow pulled his blanket around him with a smile. Sleep came more quickly now, because Kurosaki hadn't sounded annoyed at all.

It was a familiar tone.

* * *

"Coffee." Grimmjow warmed his hands on the steaming mug and took a huge gulp. Then he gagged in pain and spewed it across the table. "Gah what the hell!" He complained as he rubbed his mouth. Ichigo was staring at him wide eyed.

"That's disgusting! …And be careful, the coffee is hot." He added as he went to fetch a towel. Grimmjow scowled. Hot?

"Now he tells me. Fucking humans can get hurt by anything, I swear." Grimmjow grimaced as he stuck a finger in his mouth, trying to evaluate the damage. He finally decided it was superficial and took a far more cautious sip of the coffee. "Ah." It was good, even better than usual. Maybe it was because he had actual taste buds that could get burnt by scalding liquid. It wasn't really worth it. Ichigo just shook his head as he cleaned off the table. "Don't you have some place to be?" Grimmjow asked. Everyone else was gone, shouldn't Ichigo have gone with them? The teen grimaced before taking a seat.

"Dad called me off school, told them I had a personal emergency and would be gone a week. Ishida's going to bring over my homework. We have to figure out what to do with you." Ichigo said frankly and Grimmjow couldn't help but bristle a little. Do with him? "But first, I want you to explain exactly what you were – no charades, you bastard!" He yelped as Grimmjow started to make a few obscene gestures. The former arrancar stopped with a wicked grin.

"You didn't say no charades… okay, fine." He said hastily as Ichigo picked up his cup of coffee with narrowed eyes. If the bastard threw that on him it would probably hurt like a bitch. Taking a sip of his coffee, he took a deep breath. Talking wasn't really his thing, but he'd give it his best. "If you tell anyone else this story I will kill you, alright?" Kurosaki's eyes widened at his serious tone and the kid gave him a hesitant nod. "I hate this story because it makes me look like a weak-ass pussy. But everyone has to start somewhere." Grimmjow looked into his coffee for a moment, just remembering. "It started when I was a fresh adjuchas."

"Fresh?" Ichigo asked and Grimmjow nodded. Shinigami really didn't know dick about hollows, so he would have to explain.

"Just evolved. When that happens, we're ravenously hungry since we gotta maintain our new shape. I didn't know it, but someone was watching me. He waited until I was solid enough in my new shape that I wasn't quite so hungry, and then the bastard ambushed me." Grimmjow could still remember his fear and rage as if it was yesterday. "He was higher than me and I thought I was about to become a light snack. I did my dandiest to fuck him up, though." It hadn't been enough, anymore than he could defeat two taichou and two fukutaichou all at once. "That wasn't what he wanted, though. He knocked me out and dragged me to his lair."

"I think I know where this is going." Kurosaki said quietly as Grimmjow paused and took another sip of his coffee. "Grimmjow, I'm sorry."

"Eh, don't get ahead of yourself Kurosaki." Grimmjow waved the apology off impatiently. "Anyway, he told me he'd been watching me. That he could tell I was going to get stronger quickly, and he wanted me to carry his cubs." Kurosaki's eyes went wide at that. "I told him to fuck off and die, and he just laughed. Then he mated me. It hurt, but adjuchas can secrete these pheromones to make a mate more receptive, and he did that with me. It helped some, and the sex got pretty wild. I still hated his guts though and I told him I'd kill him. He just laughed and dared me to try." Grimmjow smiled to himself as he remembered his younger self. Strong, gutsy and just as incredibly stupid as he was now. "The bastard didn't sleep for three days. I tried to escape so many times, but the fucker caught me every time and mated me again. By the third day, he managed to seed me and that was that." He could still remember his wild rage when he'd realized the matings had caught.

"Wait, he got you pregnant?" Ichigo stared at him, glancing down at a very flat abdomen. Grimmjow shrugged.

"Adjuchas are both sexes, Ichigo. It's a hell of a lot different for vasto lordo and arrancar." He took a sip of his coffee as the teen swallowed hard, trying to digest the information. "Pretty weird for a human, eh?"

"You'll have to explain how adjuchas work some time. So he got you pregnant." Ichigo said, determined to hear the rest of the story. Grimmjow sighed, lowering his coffee cup.

"Okay. Being pregnant is a lot like that collar I put on you. All the power goes to the cub, so I was truly fucked at that point. He went to sleep and didn't give a damn that I knew, because if I killed him I'd be killing myself. You can imagine how much I hated him at that point." Grimmjow said lightly, amused at the memories. Oh, he'd hated the bastard. "Then he started bringing me kills. Nice, big ones that I couldn't have caught for myself. He let me eat before he would touch them, and we kept mating but it was… nice. It took a while, but I started to warm up to the bastard. I still told him I hated him, but the tone changed." Ichigo was staring at him now like he was some strange new species. Which he was, actually. Arrancar were pretty new. "He gave me pleasure he didn't have to. So… when the first egg was laid… I stuck around. And we ended up having two more."

"What! Grimmjow, you… you actually submitted to him? Voluntarily?" Ichigo asked then winced as the former Espada bristled for a moment. Then he laughed, sipping his coffee.

"Yeah, that's why I don't tell this story much. Such a weakling, right? But the fucker earned it the hard way. He was a damned good sire, when the cubs were hatched he made sure to teach them to hunt before driving them off the nest." Grimmjow sighed at the memory. The cubs had been damned cute, and with the basic lessons under the belt they'd had a chance. He wondered if any of them had made it. Hueco Mundo was tough, and it was only a chance. "Anyway, after the third egg he told me it was time for me to go. He said I was getting too powerful, and he wouldn't be able to bring me good enough kills soon. So either we had to switch and he would become the bitch of the relationship, or we had to go our own ways. And he told me he couldn't handle being the bitch. He had some bad memories, and he'd flip out and then I'd have to kill him, if we tried." Grimmjow sipped his coffee, then shrugged. "So I told him he was a pussy and I hated him, then I left."

"You didn't say it like that." Kurosaki sounded very sure. "What did you really say to him?"

"That is what I said to him. It was all in the tone, Kurosaki." Grimmjow grinned at his disbelieving look and decided to demonstrate. "Like this… I hate you, Kurosaki." He let the heat, a smoky desire and deep affection curl into the words. He had the satisfaction of seeing the kid swallow, hard, and knew his libido had just kicked him in the crotch. "You're such a goddamn pussy."

"S-Stop that!" Ichigo was blushing and Grimmjow laughed, leaning back into his chair. "You know, Grimmjow, just because someone raped and abused you doesn't make it right to do it to someone else." The kid said, trying to get them back on track. Grimmjow narrowed his eyes.

"Don't you understand anything yet?" He growled. "If you want a strong mate, you have to nail them to the floor. No one puts up their tail willingly, Kurosaki! That wasn't rape, it was a, a, a fucking _romance_ or some shit." The shinigami was looking at him like he was nuts again. "I was _courting_ you, you dumbass!"

"Are you serious?" Ichigo said wonderingly and Grimmjow nodded his head. "I can't have cubs for you, you know."

"You don't know that." Grimmjow said easily and had the pleasure of seeing Kurosaki looking like he might puke. "But probably not. We're all probably sterile, anyway. But I still wanted you for a mate. You're strong, tough and stubborn as hell… just like me." Their eyes met for a moment and there was heat and desire between them. Grimmjow could feel it coming off the teen. He was thinking about doing something about it when Kurosaki spoke.

"What was his name? Did you ever meet him again?" That killed the desire instantly and Grimmjow dropped his gaze into his coffee cup.

"His name doesn't matter, and yeah, I did. I had a fraccion later and we mostly hunted together, but sometimes we hunted separately." He didn't look up and didn't see the blood draining from Ichigo's face. "One day, one of them brought back a kill. It had been a while but… I still knew him. I told them I wasn't hungry and went to howl at the moon for a while." Grimmjow glanced up and saw the horror on the human's face. "That's just the way it goes, in Hueco Mundo." He said softly. He was over it, although there was still a small pain when he thought about that broken body on the sand.

"I'm sorry." They sat in silence for a while, as Grimmjow finished his coffee and pushed the mug away. Ichigo took a deep breath, shaking his head. "Okay. We need to go over to Kisuke's. He's going to give you some aptitude tests to see what we can do with you."

"Do with me?" Grimmjow grunted as he stood and took the mug over to the sink, giving it a quick rinse. "What do you mean?" He asked suspiciously.

"You look kind of old to go to high school, not like Rukia, and I don't think you would enjoy it anyway." Ichigo said and Grimmjow rolled his eyes. Understatement of the year. "And, um, dad would like it if you could pay rent. So he's going to test to see if you remember any useful skills."

"Cars. I remember cars." Grimmjow said instantly. "Give me a fucking car engine and I will fuck shit up!" His hands itched at the thought. Ichigo blinked, then laughed.

"I mentioned that to him, so he should have some automotive tests ready. So are you ready to go?" Ichigo stood and Grimmjow nodded.

"Lead the way, Kurosaki." As they walked to the bus stop, Grimmjow entertained himself by watching Ichigo's ass. His jeans were pretty tight and it was a nice, nice ass.

He'd have to do something about that later.

* * *

Grimmjow wiped off his hands and looked at his handiwork proudly.

"Who's your daddy?" He growled to the engine. "That would be me." It had given him a hard time. He guessed that things had changed a bit since he'd eaten the soul of a really obsessed mechanic. But whoever the dumbass had been, he had an absolute gift for machines. Advances in technology had fallen under his hands.

"Incredible. You are an excellent practical mechanic, Grimmjow." That was the weird guy in the hat, Kisuke, that was it. Grimmjow just nodded. The guy was another scientist, and he was really sick to death of them. "But you do have oil in your hair."

"Huh? Oh, whatever." Grimmjow said indifferently. It would probably look good. "Now what?" He was more than willing to do more. Working on cars felt like sliding his hand back into an old, well-worn glove. It was a good feeling.

"Well, I'll have to forge some credentials for you." Kisuke looked contemplative for a moment. "No one hires without a few papers, these days. But when that's done you should be able to get a job as an auto-mechanic. They're always in demand and the wages are very good. Ichigo will be pleased."

"Yeah… where is Kurosaki?" Grimmjow frowned as he glanced around. He'd been so absorbed in his work that he'd totally missed the kid leaving. Although he supposed watching him go at an engine was pretty boring.

"Oh, he's fetching us lunch. I hope you like curry!" He said cheerfully and Grimmjow shrugged. He'd never tried curry, whatever that was.

"If it's edible, I'll eat it." He said indifferently. Then he noticed the shopkeeper and former shinigami giving him a strange smile. "What?"

"I was just thinking how wonderful you and Ichigo look together. Orange and blue!" He said and Grimmjow blinked, flummoxed. He was still trying to figure out if they'd been complimented or insulted when a familiar strawberry walked in.

"I got it! I wasn't sure what you wanted, Grimm, so I got you chicken." Ichigo passed over a styrofoam container and Grimmjow felt his mouth watering at the smell. It was like nothing he'd smelled before, but he really wanted to try it. "I wasn't sure how spicy you wanted so it's mild."

"It's great." He mumbled, trying not to burn himself again as he ate the hot food. "You humans have awesome food." Grimmjow was willing to admit that this was a huge plus to being human. Hollows all tasted the same, and while it was a good taste and the rush of power was amazing, it still got old. This food wasn't going to get old for a while. They ate in silence for a while before Kisuke cleared his throat.

"Um, Grimmjow. I hate to bring this up, but…" Grimmjow rolled his eyes to himself. The guy sounded like he was sitting on a tack. "You might want to consider dying your hair."

"Huh?" That came completely out of left field and he blinked at the guy, startled. "Why?" He thought the guy liked the orange and blue together. Why would he want to change it now?

"It looks a bit odd. Like, well, you might have a problem with authority." Ichigo said as tactfully as he could and Grimmjow's eyes narrowed.

"I do have a problem with a authority." He said with a scowl. "You know what I'm like, Kurosaki!" Ichigo ran a hand through his hair as Kisuke laughed, fanning himself.

"I can see we'll be having some problems placing you! I'll have to recommend to whoever hires you that they keep you away from the customers." Kisuke said merrily, but with some real concern. "Grimmjow, I think perhaps we should go over the basic rules of living in the real world."

"Don't kill anyone? That sort of thing?" Grimmjow asked, eating more curry then trying the naan bread. That was good too, especially when he used it to scoop up the curry.

"Yes, exactly." Kisuke gave him a quick tutorial on the rules of the Living World. Some of it took more explaining than others.

"So is stealing stuff okay if I don't get caught – ow, Kurosaki!" The kid had punched him on the shoulder. Grimmjow rubbed the bruise as he scowled at the teen, meeting Ichigo's scowl head on.

"No, it's not okay, period. Other people own that stuff, not you." He said firmly and Grimmjow muttered to himself about pussy ass weakling who couldn't defend their things. "That's not how the Living World works, Grimmjow."

"There are too many people living in close proximity to each other." Kisuke supplied helpfully. "It's even more extreme than Soul Society, and certainly nothing like Hueco Mundo. Hollows typically give each other a great deal of space, correct?"

"Well, kind of. We hunt each other all the time." Grimmjow said, frowning. What the shopkeeper was saying did make sense, though. "I guess it's like the rules Aizen came up with for the arrancar, because we were all living so close together. Huh." That made it easier for him to accept the rules. He hadn't liked Aizen's rules, but he'd seen that they were the only practical way to manage all the Numeros. There were a lot of Numeros.

"Are you sure he shouldn't go to school with me for a while, Kisuke?" Ichigo questioned, looking really concerned. It was annoying. Kinda sweet, but annoying. "It might be hard, just throwing him into a job."

"What, you think I can't keep my temper?" Grimmjow said and they both looked at him like he was an idiot. "Hmph! Fine, I can't. Jerks." He growled and Ichigo blinked as Kisuke laughed.

"Just show him around for the week, Ichigo. I'll do what I can to find a good place for him." Taking that as a dismissal, they both finished their food and went to go find some trouble. Or at least, that was how Grimmjow liked to think of it. They actually went to the mall.

"I see what you mean about the people." The former Espada found it unnerving, how many people there were in such a small space. He noticed that they hardly ever made eye contact or acknowledged each other, which was pretty different from the arrancar. Even Ulquiorra usually made eye contact at least once.

"This isn't a busy day, either." Ichigo said quietly. "You should see it on Saturday." Grimmjow shuddered a bit at the thought of the place being busy. Then something caught his eye.

"What the hell are those?" He quickly went to check out a display of really colorful shit. "What are these?" He picked up one and looked at. It was some kind of clip, covered in glittery stuff.

"Uh, those are hair clips. Girls wear them." Kurosaki told him, then stared as he grinned and put it in his hair. "G-Grimmjow!"

"What, don't you think I'm sexy?" He turned his head, taking a look at his reflection in the mirror. The girl running the kiosk was stifling a giggle and he flashed her a wicked grin. "It's a silver panther. You gotta admit that it suits me, Kurosaki."

"It really doesn't. And my friends call me Ichigo." The shinigami said and Grimmjow paused before flipping the thing out of his hair and putting it back down on the fabric of the kiosk.

"Are we friends, Ichigo?" He asked, letting that heat and affection come into his voice. Ichigo swallowed, looking into his eyes for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, we're friends." His tone was a bit breathy and Grimmjow grinned at the reaction he was getting. Then he reached up to something else on the kiosk and flipped on a pair of sunglasses. "Grimmjow! You look like a total fruit!" Ichigo couldn't help but crack up at the sight of the former espada wearing pink and yellow heart sunglasses, bedazzled with rhinestones.

"Is that a good thing? Well, whatever, I love seeing you laugh." He put the glasses back, though, mainly because he didn't have any of that 'money' stuff Kisuke had told him about. Trying to take stuff without paying was stealing, and then Kurosaki would get mad at him. "So are we doing anything in particular here or are we just loafing? Not that there's anything wrong with loafing." Grimmjow asked as they walked through the mall. He idly noticed that a lot of girls and a few guys were noticing him. He flashed a group of teenage girls a grin and they giggled, watching him walk.

"Well, I was thinking we could go see a movie." Ichigo said, completely oblivious to the girls. "The new James Bond film is out. It's full of explosions, action and violent death, you'll love it." Grimmjow had to laugh at that.

"Sounds like fun!" And it was fun. Except for one part, where the spy was about to be tortured. Grimmjow gripped the arms of his chair tightly, trying not to let Kurosaki know it bothered him. He relaxed when the guy managed to escape and smiled tightly to himself. It wasn't that easy in real life. It was never that easy. But then, the movie wouldn't be much fun if it followed reality that closely, now would it?

It was going to be a long, long time before he forgot what had been done to him.

* * *

"I want to have sex with you." Grimmjow said, putting all his heat and desire into his voice and eyes. Ichigo shuddered but remained firm in his refusal.

"No. My sisters and dad could hear us." He said and Grimmjow gave a discontented growl.

"Only if you scream. I'm not that vocal, remember?" He said and Ichigo blushed before giving him a hard look.

"You thump a lot. I said no." He turned away and Grimmjow's eyes narrowed. Quiet sex… what was the best way to have quiet sex?

"Hmm, I have an idea." He said, stripping off the pajamas the shinigami had given him. Ichigo turned back and his eyes went wide as he saw Grimmjow in his full, naked glory. "The question is, do you mind having a dick in your mouth?"

"What? Grimmjow, that's disgusting!" Ichigo sat up with a scowl and the former Espada grinned at him.

"Nah, I did it to you, it's not that bad." He said lightly as he climbed onto the bed beside his pretty little strawberry. Ichigo was looking really pissed off now, giving him that familiar, hard as nails look. So sexy.

"I meant what you said. H-Hey, what are you doing?" Ichigo stared as Grimmjow lay down beside him so he was facing the teen's crotch, his hips up near Kurosaki's head. "Uh…" Ichigo blinked as he roughly pulled down the teen's pants. "I said no!" He squirmed as Grimmjow grabbed his thigh.

"And I'm not going to be celibate for the years it takes you to not be a cub, dumbass. This is going to be really quiet, that's what you want right?" Grimmjow dove right in, exploring Kurosaki's sac with his tongue and making the teen groan. It wasn't hard to get him aroused, not even remotely. "Suck me off, and I'll do the same to you, Ichigo." He said before breathing on the teen's erection. "Perfectly quiet. No one'll hear a thing."

"Oh… okay then." Kurosaki had clearly just lost the will to fight and Grimmjow gasped as tight, wet heat enfolded his aching member. Then he returned the attention, licking Ichigo's cock as he gently fondled the teen's sac.

With both their mouths occupied, it was as quiet as Grimmjow had promised. The former espada savored Ichigo's smell, the warm, pleasant musk that he'd come to identify as the teen. It smelled great, especially combined with his own pleasure, Kurosaki's soft, muffled sounds and the feeling of the kid's hard, throbbing length in his throat. He knew he was driving the kid nuts and he loved every moment of it, taking the teen so far into his throat that it almost hurt. Then he groaned as he felt Kurosaki trying to do the same thing and almost gagging on him. It felt wonderful, so hot and tight and wet.

For timeless minutes, they worked on each other, building each other up and taking each other down. Neither one of them wanted the sex to end, savoring the feelings between them. But it had to end sometime. Grimmjow felt Ichigo stiffen and mew softly just before he released. He swallowed the salty liquid, savoring the taste and the flavor of Kurosaki's powerful reiatsu. Ichigo sucked him a bit more urgently and Grimmjow closed his eyes, giving himself over to the feeling before finding his own orgasm with a grunt of pleasure. Then he pulled away, looking down at the spent and exhausted teen. Kurosaki's eyes were half closed already, and he leaned in to give the kid one final, deep kiss.

"Goodnight, Ichigo." He murmured into the boy's ear before sliding down onto his own mat. He left the pajamas off. He didn't really care for them anyway, and the blanket would hide his nudity if the kid's sisters happened to walk in. Not that he much cared, but Ichigo did, and he didn't want to upset the teen.

There was no point in distressing his mate.


	4. Creative Rearrangement

"Hey, Ichigo?" Grimmjow stood in front of his closet, gazing at the contents in bemusement. He'd hoped to find some clothing he could wear. He only had the ones his gigai had come with, and he wanted to try something else. "I thought we weren't allowed to kill people."

"Of course we're not, what are you – oh. Those." Ichigo sighed as he stepped over to his closet. He was already dressed in a pair of stone washed jeans and a t-shirt. "Those are just gigai's. It seems like everyone wants to store them here."

"Yeah, well, don't let those 'police' people Kisuke mentioned catch up to you. You look like a serial killer. Do you have anything I can wear?" He grinned as Kurosaki took in the fact that he was only wearing boxers, and blushed. "I spilt some curry on my shirt yesterday, and it's the only one this thing came with."

"Oh, right." Ichigo sorted through his closet for a moment before pulling out his baggiest clothes. "You're larger than me, but maybe these will fit." Grimmjow tried on the shirt and pants, and found they fit… just barely. If he flexed too hard he'd probably kill the shirt. "I'm going to have to take you shopping." Kurosaki didn't sound too enthusiastic and Grimmjow shot him a glance. "Sorry. It's just, money's a little tight around here."

"Don't you get paid for being a substitute shinigami?" He asked, a bit surprised. It seemed like Ichigo was doing a lot of work for them, and taking on arrancar, well shit, he should be getting hazard pay. The teen sighed.

"Yes, but it's the kind of money they spend in Soul Society, so it's not much good here. I suppose when I die I'll be rich in the afterlife with everything I'm saving up." Grimmjow laughed and Ichigo smiled. "I can exchange it with Kisuke, but he rapes me on the exchange rates."

"Well, I'll just have to get a job." Grimmjow said optimistically. He had faith in Urahara's ability to turn up something he could do without killing people or getting himself fired. "I'm kinda looking forward to it. Cars!" He growled, making the teen laugh. "So what are we doing today?"

"Actually, I wanted to introduce you to my friends. And Chad said if you're really a mechanic, you can take a look at his dad's car, it's making funny noises." Ichigo said and Grimmjow shrugged. "It's Saturday, so we're going to meet up at the park."

"Okay." That sounded just fine to the former Espada. Of course, it wasn't like he could come up with any suggestions yet. He had no idea what options this town had. "Can I cook breakfast?" He figured that was something he should learn how to do. Ichigo looked startled.

"Can you cook?" He asked and Grimmjow shook his head.

"Only scrambled eggs. Remember? I want you to teach me, Ichigo." He said the boy's name in a purr and had the pleasure of seeing him blush.

"Ah, okay." They went downstairs and Grimmjow learned how to make potato and bacon hash. The end result was a little salty, but edible and they both ate without complaint.

Meeting Ichigo's friends was a bit surreal. Grimmjow already knew most of them, of course. They'd seen his fights with the teen and were all more than a little wary of the former Espada. Grimmjow had no idea how to make friends, so he settled for being himself. That seemed to work okay, although Ichigo nearly had a seizure when he and Chad decided to spar.

"Shit, Ichigo, he's the one who still has some powers. You should be worried about him hurting me!" Grimmjow complained to the overprotective teen. "I'm crippled in this thing! Totally crippled!" He tugged at the collar of his shirt, wishing he could shed the gigai. But he couldn't. He was locked into it very, very firmly.

"I will be fine, Ichigo. We've sparred before, how is this different?" Chad asked and Ichigo scowled.

"Grimmjow is a rabid animal." He growled and the former Espada grinned before breathing in the kid's ear and making him jump.

"You say the sweetest things." He murmured, pleased to see a blush on the kid's face. The Quincy was looking at them both with a curious expression and he flashed the kid a grin. "I won't hurt him, and I really want to keep my skills up." Grimmjow was sincere in that. He hated feeling crippled by his gigai, and while his current hollow feeling would warn off other hollows, that wouldn't last forever. Sooner or later he'd turn into a spiritually powerful human soul and then he might as well have "FREE FOOD" stamped on his ass. He'd need to be able to defend himself like a human would.

The sparring was fun, and ended in a draw. Chad was just a touch stronger, and Grimmjow was just a touch faster. They finally put a stop to it as Orihime showed up. She was being escorted by the midget shinigami and Grimmjow gave her a grin as she glared at him. He didn't mind the glare too much. He had tried to kill her, once, and came pretty close to succeeding too.

"You better not be her only guard, Ulquiorra would smoke your ass so fast." He said just to get a rise out of her. He was sure the midget had the rest of the Seireitei on speed dial. She scowled at him then.

"You should worry about your own ass, Espada. I can only imagine what he would do to you." She said softly and Grimmjow froze for a moment. Then he forced a grin.

"Touche." He said with a laugh, trying to hide the fact that the thought made his skin crawl. Ulquiorra wouldn't do much to him, though. It would be what happened after he dragged his traitorous ass back to Aizen. He'd be lucky to kill himself before Gin and the rest of the freaks got started. A warm hand touched his arm and he almost jumped.

"It's not going to happen." Ichigo said quietly but firmly and Grimmjow felt both relieved and irritated. Relieved, because he believed the teen would kill himself to keep his new friend and lover safe. Irritated, because he wanted to be the dominant half of the pair. Instincts said that protecting should be his job. Reality was telling instincts to stuff it, since he was stuck in a gigai and all his powers were blocked. Grimmjow growled to himself and decided to go with relieved, stuffing his irritation. He was pretty damn thankful that Kurosaki had gotten him away from the clown, after all.

"Thanks." He said before looking at the midget again. "So what's your name, anyway? I didn't catch it." If he called her midget out loud, she'd probably beat his ass, and that would be too humiliating for words.

"Rukia." She said shortly and Grimmjow made a mental note of it before the group got started. It turned out their destination, now that Orihime was here, was the mall. The Quincy wanted some sewing supplies. Sewing?

"Ishida, I was wondering if you might be able to make Grimmjow some clothes? If I bought you the fabric?" Ichigo asked and Grimmjow blinked. That was an interesting idea and he assumed it would save money.

"If he takes care of Chad's car, certainly." The Quincy answered immediately and they both glanced at Grimmjow, who laughed.

"My pleasure! I love cars. I can't wait to own one. I think I'm gonna buy some old car with lots of potential and fix it up." He couldn't hide his pleasure at the thought and wasn't about to try. It would be so damn good to have his own car. But then Chad asked a question that stopped him in his tracks.

"Do you know how to drive?" Grimmjow had to think hard about that, but he eventually managed to dredge up recollections of driving, along with all the basic rules of the road. Of course, it made sense that Mr. Mechanic had been able to drive, but he clearly hadn't been as obsessed with it as he had been with cars. Grimmjow was lucky he remembered.

"Yeah, I think so, but it's kinda hazy. I might want to take some classes or something." He said, rubbing the back of his head. That was a bit annoying, but he was human now so a car crash would be a Bad Thing. Especially if Kurosaki was in the car with him. Yeah, fuck no.

Grimmjow really enjoyed his time in the fabric shop. It was annoying, though, when Ichigo forcibly restrained him from some of the best fabrics. Or at least, he thought they were the best.

"What's wrong with it? I think it's awesome!" Grimmjow complained as he held up the colourful fabric. It was red, with little kittens dancing and jumping all over it. Ichigo looked pained as Orihime giggled.

"I know you like cats, Grimm, but that looks awful. How about a leopard print or something? I'm sure Ishida could do something with that." The teen doubted even his friend could do anything good with the kitten fabric. Grimmjow shrugged and put the cloth back. It probably was a bit too colourful.

"Okay." They finally settled on some black, some white and some leopard print for the shirts. For pants, it was denim and enough black for one set of dress slacks. Those would be for interviews, since Grimmjow was dead certain that mechanics usually wore jeans. At least, the guy whose soul he'd eaten had. Grimmjow carried the bags easily as they all decided to hit the food court.

"Grimmjow, I was wondering. Why exactly did you rescue Orihime and Ichigo? Kurosaki has been very vague about it." Ishida asked casually, watching him like a hawk. Grimmjow paused, glancing at Ichigo before he answered. The teen was giving him a pleading look and he decided that tact was in order.

"Well, you might think it's weird, but we got kinda close. Aizen let me take care of him for a while, and I woulda missed my favourite sparring partner." He said easily and saw Ichigo breath a small sigh of relief. "Also, he's dead sexy." He couldn't resist adding and saw the teen go bolt upright in outrage.

"Grimmjow!" He yelped and the former Espada laughed, eating his food. Ishida nodded, completely unsurprised, but Orihime and Chad were looking at him like he'd grown another head. Rukia just shook her head and applied herself to her food. As a shinigami, she knew the whole story.

"Wait, so you're gay?" Orihime asked, sounding shocked. Grimmjow shrugged, picking up something breaded and chicken like and eating it. It tasted okay, but he wondered if any real chicken had been involved.

"Bisexual." He said shortly. It was probably the best explanation for humans. They wouldn't want to hear about the ins and outs of adjuchas reproduction. Since he'd become an arrancar, he found both males and females attractive anyway. "And you?" He asked suddenly and had the pleasure of seeing Orihime blush and stammer as everyone at the table looked at her. She took refuge in her salad and Grimmjow noticed she hadn't answered the question.

"Anyway. Are you ready for the chemistry test, Ichigo?" The talk turned to school things and Grimmjow just let it pass him by, enjoying his meal. When he was done he took his stuff and placed it in the trash can, imitating the humans around him. Although it wasn't much of a stretch, there were trash cans in Los Noches.

After they finished up at the mall – Orihime needed some cosmetics – Grimmjow got a chance to have a look at Chad's car. Or rather, his dad's car. It was an old clunker with some serious rust on the body, but apparently it still ran pretty well. It turned out to be a pretty easy fix and while he was at it, he changed the oil and gave it some general maintenance.

"That should do it." He said, wiping off his hands with a few paper towels the kid had given him. "Give Ichigo a call if it acts up again, I'll see what I can do. It's pretty old, needs some TLC." If he'd owned the car, he'd have done some serious body work on it, but his own labour was free. For Chad's family, it would probably be a lot cheaper to just buy a new car. The tall, bulky teen nodded.

"Thank you. My father will appreciate it." He said and Grimmjow smiled. The kid was both polite and strong, and he found that he rather liked him.

"Where's Ichigo?" The ex-Espada asked. While he was working, the rest of the kids had gone off somewhere.

"They are in the back yard, playing ball. This way." Chad showed him to the back yard and Grimmjow blinked as he saw the teens playing a spirited game of volleyball. He knew volleyball pretty well. There was a tournament going between some of the Numeros, and given that several of them were well-endowed females, their efforts had some fans. Grimmjow had gone to see a few times out of boredom and stuck around for the boobs.

This game wasn't nearly as interesting, since Orihime was completely clothed, but she was still jiggling nicely. Grimmjow thought her tits couldn't hold a candle to the light sweat on Ichigo's skin, though. He looked tasty enough to eat. Then, as though he'd sensed the thought, Ichigo slammed the ball towards him. Grimmjow blocked it with his arms and let it drop to the ground, surprised.

"Hey Grimm, you want to play too?" Grimmjow laughed and joined the game, picking up the ball and giving it a serve. He'd never played the game before but it wasn't too hard to pick up, and pretty soon he was having fun. It was strange. Back when he'd been an Espada, he'd never have imagined there were so many non-violent ways to have fun. Was his gigai changing him? Maybe it was. Humans didn't have the same instincts as hollows.

But he was stuck with it, so he wasn't going to worry about it.

* * *

Grimmjow was lying on Ichigo's bed and reading a book when it happened.

The teen had to go back to school, and none of his interviews had led to anything yet. Urahara was trying to help, and thought he had a few promising leads, but job hunting was apparently supposed to take a while. So Ichigo had showed him the library, and Grimmjow had decided to get out some books about being human. He wasn't sure what was reliable, though. It seemed like everyone had different ideas about what was healthy and what wasn't. He'd finally picked up a book called the Primal Blueprint, mostly because he liked the writing style. He'd also gotten You: The Owner's Manual. The conflicting advice was interesting.

Grimmjow took a bite out of an apple, flipping to the next page. He was taken completely by surprise as the window slammed open and a dozen bags landed on his head.

"What the fuck – ARGH!" More bags were dumped in, some of them heavy enough to knock the wind out of him. "Damn it!" He thrashed his way free, losing his apple in the press before glaring at the window. "You!"

"You!" The big titty bitch seemed surprised to see him. Then she smiled and put her arms under her boobs, pressing them up a little. Grimmjow wasn't the least bit interested. "Hang onto those for us!" Then the two shinigami were gone and Grimmjow was left to indulge his talent for swearing. Rooting through the bags, he managed to find his apple and books.

"…Hmm." Setting the apple on top of Ichigo's computer, he looked at the clutter of bags for a moment. "Heh. Hehehehehe." An evil, evil thought was percolating through his brain and he smiled wickedly before opening a bag. "Hmm, nice bikini." Grimmjow pulled out the cloth, admiring it against himself for a moment. "Heh." Then he got to work on the rest of the bags.

Big titty bitch would regret the day she'd crossed his path.

* * *

"Hey Grimmjow! How'd your interview go?" Ichigo asked as he got home. Grimmjow looked up from the kitchen table, adjusting the sunglasses on his forehead.

"It didn't. The interviewer was sick so they called to reschedule." That was annoying, but stuff happened and demanding to be seen today would have torpedoed his chances right there. "How'd your day go?" The teen looked happy and energized, so he was guessing it had gone pretty well.

"Great! I think I aced my chemistry quiz. Hey, Grimmjow, where did you get those glasses?" Ichigo had finally noticed the addition to his usual getup. Grimmjow grinned, pulling the sunglasses down. They were really stylish, with silver frames and pretty rhinestones in the corners.

"I stole them." He admitted casually and had the pleasure of seeing Kurosaki speechless. "I'll give 'em back though. Eventually." He grinned nastily as the teen started heading straight towards lecture land.

"Grimmjow, you can't just steal stuff! And what do you mean, give them back? Who did you steal them from?" Ichigo asked and Grimmjow jerked a thumb upstairs.

"Your shinigami friends almost killed me by dumping a load of bags on my head. I figured big titty bitch could lend me her sunglasses." He said and Ichigo looked relieved, taking a seat at the table across form him.

"Oh, them. I hate it when the shinigami woman's association does that. I'm sorry, Grimmjow." He said, looking at the books on the table. There were a few automotive books in the mix, now.

"Oh, don't worry. I don't think they'll be doing that again." Grimmjow grinned, so evilly that Ichigo stared. "That was a lot of fun, Ichigo. A lot of fun." He hadn't had that much fun since… since the first time he'd fought Ichigo, actually. He'd been giggling to himself off and on all day as he contemplated his little trick.

"Grimmjow, what did you do?" Kurosaki sounded scared now, and Grimmjow laughed as he took a bite out of his apple. He really wanted to share his prank with someone. Hopefully the teen wouldn't be too pissed.

"They dumped all that shit on me, so I figured it deserved some creative rearrangement." He explained. "I spent a couple hours opening up every single box and moving stuff around." Ichigo's eyes were wide as Grimmjow grinned. "One earring there, one shoe there, oh look, this bikini top goes with this other bottom… that sorta thing. So much fun!" Messing with their purchases had made his day. It had even been worth almost getting smothered.

"Grimmjow… you…?" Ichigo suddenly burst out laughing. Grimmjow watched as the teen laughed so hard, he almost fell of his chair. "You're a total bastard!" The tone was admiring, though, and Grimmjow grinned like a cheshire cat.

"Ya know it. I wonder how long it'll take the shinigami to figure it out?" He was pretty sure they'd be back when they did, probably screaming insults. But he didn't care a bit. Ichigo laughed again, tears in his eyes from the laughter.

"Oh god, they'll be back! You better get ready, Rangiku will be trying to claw your eyes out!" He said and Grimmjow just shrugged. He wasn't worried about the big titty bitch.

Even if he was just human now, he wasn't going to stop being himself.


	5. Prank War

Grimmjow walked home from the bus stop, whistling to himself.

He was really getting the hang of this human thing. Basic knowledge was coming back fast now, and he wondered if it was partly because the gigai was working. His hollow reiatsu was definitely fading. But he also thought he was just getting better at it. Not killing people wasn't grating on his nerves hardly at all anymore. That was a huge step in the right direction.

Right now, though, he was happy because his last job interview had gone really well. The manager in charge had liked him, he could tell. And he'd given him a few practical tests to make sure he had the skills needed for the job. Grimmjow appreciated that and thought it was a good sign for the future. The guy wasn't really a mechanic himself, but he clearly knew what to look for in an employee.

Maybe his happiness was what led him to let his guard down. But he wasn't expecting someone to ambush him _inside_ Kurosaki's house. Well, except for his dad, but that weird guy was never home during the day. So why would he expect that?

"Way of Binding: Forced Slumber!" Grimmjow was turning and cursing his luck as the kido started to take effect. He staggered, trying to fight it off. Unlike last time, he was at full power. However, also unlike last time, he was trapped in a gigai and well on his way to becoming human, or at least shinigami. With his reaitsu in flux and stuck in his body, he didn't have much defense. The only comfort was, the voice didn't sound like an Espada.

Then he dropped off to darkness.

* * *

"Huh, that's strange." Ichigo glanced around the room as he got home. It was empty. Normally Grimmjow would be in the living room, reading a book and snacking on something. Or maybe outside, practicing his sword work with a rattan wand. The former Espada was determined to keep his skills up and Ichigo was enjoying sparring with him.

Ichigo sighed to himself. His feelings on Grimmjow were so mixed, he didn't know where to begin. He wasn't quite over the rape. Sure, it hadn't hurt, and Grimmjow had meant it to be something else completely, but he still hadn't _wanted_ it. Could he just get past that so easily? Another large part of him felt that he already had. He'd had sex with Grimmjow several times since he'd come to live with them, and enjoyed it every time. No, more than that. The former Espada could make him feel like a cat in heat, and seemed to take a fiendish delight in undoing his control. Ichigo was just glad that his dad and sisters hadn't heard anything yet. It was probably only a matter of time, but he wanted to hold it off as long as possible.

It wasn't just the sex, though. The truth was, he admired the ex-Espada. He'd thrown away so much to protect what was dear to him, and that resonated strongly with the teen. The fact that he was the one who was so dear to Grimmjow brought a blush to his cheeks and a lump to his throat, when he thought about it. Did the Espada love him? He'd never used that word, not once, but Ichigo suspected that was a hollow thing. The emotions he'd clearly felt about his old mate seemed a lot like love to him.

Ichigo sighed and started a pot of coffee for his father and Grimmjow. He didn't much like coffee, but they were both fond of it, although Grimmjow preferred his burnt to the point it was sticky. Everyone thought it was disgusting, but Grimmjow claimed it was how his auto-mechanic soul liked his coffee.

"Oh well. Someone always finishes off the pot." Ichigo muttered, trying to put a good face on it. At least they never had leftover coffee that no one was willing to drink anymore.

"Hey Ichi." Karin walked in, giving him a limp wave as Yuzu followed with a smile. "Where's goat face?"

"Still at the clinic. Have either of you seen Grimmjow?" He asked, then frowned as they both shook their heads. "He should have been back from his interview hours ago." It was the one that had been rescheduled. Ichigo felt uneasy letting the Espada out of his sight, but the gigai had a built in distress mechanism. If a powerful hollow of any sort threatened Grimmjow, Ichigo would get an alarm and be out to find him in no time. Of course, if an Espada was fast, they could probably overpower the gigai-bound ex-Espada before Ichigo could reach him. That thought really worried him, but he couldn't hover over Grimmjow all the time. He had his own life, and Grimmjow would probably bite him anyway, if he tried.

"I'll go look for him. Maybe he's on your computer again." Karin said and Ichigo grimaced. He preferred Grimmjow to stay off his computer. It was embarrassing to admit he had a small collection of smut there, under the less than creative label of 'Stuff'. So far, Grimmjow hadn't investigated the Stuff folder, but it was probably just a matter of time. Maybe he should just delete it, but it had some really nice manga pictures…

Ichigo started violently, almost spilling his tea as he heard Karin's howl of laughter. He pelted up the stairs, followed by Yuzu.

"Karin, what is – AGH!" He stopped dead in the door to his room, staring at the utterly bizarre sight that was tied to his office chair. "Wh-Wh-What the HELL?" He exclaimed as Karin bent over, laughing so hard she looked about ready to cry. Yuzu squeaked behind him as he stared.

Grimmjow was tied to his chair, unconscious, his head lolled back and a thin line of drool on one cheek. It was threatening to mess up his lipstick, which was bright red and had been expertly applied by a female hand. So had the rest of his makeup, which included blush, eyeliner and some very bright blue eye shadow. The clip-on earrings were full of pink and purple roses, and matched the sunglasses on his forehead, which were covered in roses and bedazzled with rhinestones. His hair had been teased into pretty curls. Grimmjow's shirt was missing, replaced with a pink bikini top that did nothing to hide a very nice looking chest. Ichigo just thanked his lucky stars that Grimmjow still had his pants. Wedged between his legs was a sign, and the teen read it in disbelief.

_Hugs and kisses from the Women's Shinigami Association. XOXOXOXO._ Shaking his head, Ichigo checked over the former Espada and found a kido was keeping him unconscious. He was no expert at kido, but from what he could feel the person who'd placed the binding hadn't been an expert either. Mustering his power, he broke the binding and Grimmjow snorted, jerking his head up.

"What – SHIT!" The former Espada began struggling and Ichigo blinked as a strange whine left his throat. He set his hand down on Grimmjow's shoulder and had to jerk it away to avoid being bitten. He stared as he realized the blue haired man was starting to hyperventilate. "No, no no…" He was muttering the word over and over as his breathing got worse and worse.

"Oh shit!" Ichigo suddenly realized he was an idiot. A sleeping kido… waking up tied… "Hang on, Grimmjow, I'll untie you!" His voice seemed to calm the former Espada considerably, and he made quick work of the ropes. As they came off, the mini-panic attack faded and Grimmjow blinked, reaching up to touch his sunglasses.

"What happened?" He asked, pulling the shades off. Yuzu was blushing bright red and Karin was still giggling, staring at him. "Fucking gigai! I can't even resist a goddamn kido!" Grimmjow said, incensed. "What the fuck did those bitches do to me?" He stood, a bit wobbly, and Ichigo couldn't help but grin. The ex-Espada did not make a cute girl.

"Come to the bathroom and take a look." He said. It would be a lot simpler than explaining. Grimmjow blinked as he felt the earring and pulled them off, looking at them in puzzlement. Ichigo took his arm and pulled him over to the bathroom.

When they got there, Grimmjow just stared for a moment. Ichigo waited, wondering what his reaction would be. Karin and Yuzu were behind him, every bit as curious. Then, to his surprise, Grimmjow fluffed his hair.

"Yeah, it's not the first time this has happened." He said before starting to fill the sink with water. "Lilynette did it to me once after a really good bender. Let me guess, it was big titty bitch? I recognize the bikini top." Ichigo gaped, surprised Grimmjow was taking it so well. He glanced over at his sisters and saw they were also pretty shocked. Then Grimmjow looked at them with a grin. "What, you guys thought I would burst a blood vessel?"

"Uh, yeah, actually." Ichigo said, unnerved. He would have preferred an explosion. He had the feeling this might be going somewhere bad. Grimmjow's grin widened to shark like proportions.

"Nah. What's that saying? Don't get mad, get even. It might be hard when I'm stuck in this damn gigai, but someday they'll let me out of it. Then we'll see what I can think up for big titty bitch." The thought clearly gave him a lot of pleasure. Ichigo covered his eyes with one hand for a moment.

"Her name is Rangiku Matsumoto. Please don't start a prank war, Grimmjow." He'd seen things like this at school, and would rather not go through another one.

"Sorry, Kurosaki, it's already begun. But I probably can't follow up until I can go to Soul Society, so don't worry your pretty little head." Grimmjow said easily and Ichigo blushed lightly. "Can you guys scram? I want to take a shower and get this shit out of my hair."

"Oh, right!" Ichigo shoo'd away his sisters and tried to think of what he would tell his dad. He would have to tell his dad something, or else Yuzu and Karin would.

He'd rather put his own spin on things.

* * *

"Grimmjow?" Ichigo knew he should be sleeping. He had school, and he'd spent too long hunting hollows already. But he couldn't get his thoughts to settle. He needed to talk to Grimmjow about what was between them. "You awake?"

"Am now." The ex-Espada grunted, sitting up on his mat. "What is it, Ichigo?" He pulled himself up, sitting down on the bed beside the teen. Ichigo blushed as he realized Grimmjow was naked.

"Why don't you wear those pajamas we got you? No, nevermind."He said quickly as Grimmjow opened his mouth to respond. "I just – Grimmjow… we need to talk about our relationship." That made the blue haired man freeze up for a moment, before giving an irritated sigh.

"That shit is for girls. _Human_ girls." He added sourly and Ichigo scowled, giving the Espada his best tough-as-nails look. "Oh fine. What do you want to know?" Grimmjow was willing to humor his mate. Ichigo reached over and took his hand, brown eyes meeting blue.

"Do you love me?" He asked quietly and watched as the ex-Espada blinked. "What do you feel for me? Am I just your possession?" That was the thought that bothered Ichigo more than anything. From Grimmjow's story, his mate had made him into a possession, in a way. Was that what the ex-Espada was trying to do to him? Could a hollow even feel love? And what about the in-between creature Grimmjow was now? His hollow reiatsu was still present, but fading rapidly as all the souls inside him integrated into a single spirit.

"Fuck, you would ask me something like that." Grimmjow muttered and Ichigo swallowed, feeling a pain in his heart. "Look, hollows don't talk about love. It's kind of a touchy subject for a lot of us." Ichigo frowned, unable to see why. "It's unresolved despair and pain that makes most of us hollows, and we often remember a bit. Love is one of those things that makes us hollows."

"Oh." Ichigo winced. He should have thought of that. "Can you try to describe what you feel?" He asked cautiously. Perhaps that would be easier for Grimmjow, and he really needed to know. It would help him get a grip on his own feelings. The ex-Espada sighed, leaning back a bit as he thought about it. Ichigo watched, almost spellbound, as the moonlight played across pale skin and hard muscles.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, you are my mate. I would kill for you, I would die for you. I would follow you through the gates of Hell if that's what it took to keep you safe." Ichigo swallowed hard at the certainty in those words, the burning obsession. "I want to be the center of your world, and…" Grimmjow was suddenly straddling his body and Ichigo's breath caught in his throat as the ex-Espada kissed him. It was a deep, savage kiss that ignited a fire in his loins. "…I want you to be the center of mine. That's how I feel about you, Ichigo."

"That sounds like love to me." Ichigo whispered, feeling his feelings finally settle. He believed that Grimmjow was sincere, and this wasn't just about ownership. _I want to be the center of your world, and I want you to be the center of mine._ What else could that be but love? "Grimmjow." Their lips met in bruising passion, and Ichigo knew he was being an idiot. He had school tomorrow and if he didn't get to sleep soon, he'd be running on fumes.

It didn't matter. What mattered was the feel of Grimmjow's body on top of him, the way his hands were exploring and pulling away his pajamas. Ichigo groaned softly as warm, callused hands found his length and began to stroke. Then there was a momentary pause and Ichigo looked up, confused, to see Grimmjow regarding him with a thoughtful expression.

"I want to try it." He said to himself and Ichigo's confusion grew. "Dunno if I can, though…"

"Try what?" Ichigo asked but Grimmjow just shook his head. Keeping one hand on the teen's length, the ex-Espada rose to his knees and licked his fingers. The teen's eyes widened as his lover began preparing himself, hissing softly in pain. "Grimmjow, you don't have to." Although the thought of being buried to the hilt in Grimmjow's body made his mouth water. He enjoyed being the one on the bottom and loved the feeling of Grimmjow's hot, throbbing length inside him, but he still wanted to try it on the other end.

"Yeah, I do." He grunted and Ichigo frowned. Grimmjow's gaze was fixed on the wall, hazed more with pain than lust. "I'm not going to let that bitch ruin this for me." Ichigo was about to ask a question when the ex-Espada gripped his length again and began to slowly ease himself down.

"Ah!" He gasped in pure pleasure as the hot, tight, blissful heat enfolded him. He just barely managed to resist thrusting up as he saw the way Grimmjow set his jaw, riding out the pain of penetration. "Let me know… when…" He said, closing his eyes and controlling himself with iron will. Grimmjow adjusted his hips slightly and Ichigo whimpered in near pain at the feeling.

"Okay. I got this." Grimmjow sounded breathy and Ichigo took that as permission to move. Grimmjow hissed as he claimed that warmth, then groaned softly as the teen under him found his sweet spot. Ichigo smiled and got busy, gripping the ex-Espada's hip with one hand as he used the other to stroke his throbbing erection. "Oh yeah… yeah…" Grimmjow was panting, a light sheen of sweat on his skin. He gleamed in the moonlight, and Ichigo suddenly had the strange feeling that he was fucking an angel. What else could be so beautiful?

"You feel amazing…" Ichigo moaned as Grimmjow's walls seemed to flutter around him, gripping him like a glove and encouraging him to thrust up into the heat. He was quickly losing control, undone by the tight feeling and Grimmjow's little pants and gasps. "So good…" It would be hard to tell which he liked more, having the ex-Espada inside him or being the one buried in the other's body. One thing was certain, though. He was determined to make Grimmjow come first. He lightly ran his thumb up the underside of the ex-Espada's cock, and had the pleasure of seeing him quiver.

"Fuck! Shit!" Grimmjow suddenly cursed before tossing his head back, pale throat moving as his seed suddenly splattered them both. Ichigo gasped as the velvety walls around his cock suddenly clenched, tightening in a way that was beautifully tormenting. He thrust into that feeling with abandon, arching in pleasure as he found his own moment of ecstasy. They stayed that way, twined together and panting from their exertions. Grimmjow looked down and blue eyes met brown for a timeless moment. Ichigo felt like he could drown in those eyes, the deep passion and possessive fire they contained. Then Grimmjow was pulling away, grimacing slightly as a bit of semen ran down his leg.

"I better take a shower. And you better sleep, Ichigo. Don't you have school tomorrow?" The ex-Espada said softly and Ichigo paled as he glanced at the clock. He was going to be lucky to get three hours of sleep now.

"Yeah, thanks Grimmjow." He whispered and the ex-Espada shot him a wicked grin before he walked out, completely naked. Ichigo didn't bother to protest. The chances that his sisters or father might be up this time of night were practically negative.

Burying himself in his blankets, he let the sound of the shower running soothe him to sleep.

* * *

Leaning against the shower wall, Grimmjow scrubbed at himself with the soap.

He hadn't wanted Kurosaki to see how much it bothered him. The worst part of it was, it wouldn't have bothered him a bit before he fell into the shinigami's hands. He'd bottomed before, and not just with his first mate, either. It had been pretty rare he found someone worthy of the honor of taking him, but it had happened once or twice. Now, though…

"_Tell me what I want to know, and it will stop." _Grimmjow hissed to himself as he heard that soft, almost sad voice in his mind. The woman hadn't liked what she was doing. It was just a job to her, and a job she would do well. That had almost made the rape worse. He'd have kind of preferred it if she'd been getting off on it, somehow. It would have been less fucking freaky, at least.

"I won't let her ruin this for me." He whispered to himself. That Urahara guy had quietly offered to get him some therapy, but Grimmjow had rejected the offer. He was tough, and no stranger to torture. He'd heal in time. Straightening, he left off his scrubbing and just let the water cascade over him for a moment before shutting off the spray.

Ichigo wasn't the only one who needed some sleep.

* * *

Several days later.

Ichigo yawned, slowly stretching as the morning sun hit his face. Blinking slowly he sat up, scratching his back. Then he not so casually leapt to his feet and moved to the side.

"ICHIGO YOU – AH!" His father flew through the window and Ichigo winced as he hit the floor almost on top of Grimmjow's sleeping mat. Fortunately, his nutty father managed to catch himself before he crushed the blue haired man. He was spread over the ex-Espada, though. Ichigo opened his mouth to chastise his idiot of a father, but Grimmjow beat him to it.

"That's a good mornin'." The ex-Espada still had his eyes closed as he grabbed the back of Isshin's head and pulled him in for a kiss. Ichigo stared as his father made a most undignified squeak and Grimmjow's eyes opened. There was a frozen moment before Grimmjow let go and frantically crawled backwards, out of his blankets.

"What the FUCK? Seriously, what the FUCK IS THIS?" The ex-Espada howled as Isshin's eyes rolled up in his head. Ichigo stared, completely speechless, as his father collapsed in a dead faint. "What the hell was that pervert doing on top of me?!"

"Oh, he was just trying to ambush me. I wondered when he'd go back to his usual form." Ichigo said wearily. Isshin had been restraining himself due to Grimmjow's presence in his room, but clearly he'd forgotten, or just decided it shouldn't stop him. Ichigo grinned to himself. Maybe now, Grimmjow would keep his dad away permanently. Grimmjow huffed as he pulled himself to his feet and brushed himself off. His back was to the door and Ichigo's eyes went wide as that door suddenly opened.

"God, dad, we have a… guest…?" Karin's eyes roved down Grimmjow's back and the ex-Espada turned around, surprised. Her eyes roved up and down his front as well as Ichigo made small, choking sounds. Isshin suddenly revived.

"AH MY DAUGHTER YOUR INNOCENCE! MASAKI I HAVE FAILED –" Ichigo growled and punched Isshin in the head, knocking him into the floor. Grimmjow suddenly grasped the problem and cursed, grabbing a blanket off his mat and pulling it in front of him. Karin just looked at them both, bemused.

"Uh, yeah. I have seen Ichi naked before, dad. Anyway, Yuzu is making egg toast. Get it while it's hot." And she closed the door as Ichigo put a hand to his face, quietly wishing he could die. Grimmjow hurriedly put on some clothes as Isshin sobbed about lost innocence and corrupted daughters.

"Shut up, you idiot! It's your entire fault it happened!" Ichigo kicked him once before leaving the room. It was Saturday, he could eat in his pajamas if he wanted to. Grimmjow glanced at the fallen patriarch of the family, then shrugged before following Ichigo.

These people were really weird, but he was just going to go with it.


	6. Dreams and Memories

"_Please, Espada. I would prefer not to hurt you this way."_

_Pain. Burning pain in places I hardly ever shared with anyone, places that should have been precious. Places that were defiled now, violated with agonizing pain._

"_How many arrancar are there? What are Aizen's plans for them?_

_Blood sticking wetly to places it shouldn't and a whimper forced out of my throat. Too much pain._

"_Answer my questions and this will stop."_

"_N-No." Too damn stubborn to give up. Won't let her win._

_Fucking hurts…_

"_Grimmjow!"_

_Huh?_

* * *

"Grimmjow, wake up!" The blue haired ex-Espada was pulled out of his nightmare by a hand shaking his shoulder. As he woke, Grimmjow became aware of the air on his naked skin and shivered. He'd kicked off the blanket, probably in the throes of his dream. "Grimmjow?" He blinked, looking up into a concerned face.

"I'm… fine." He managed to say, but he knew his voice didn't sound right. "I'll be fine." He amended, which was closer to true. He sat up then stiffened as Ichigo gently hugged him, before relaxing into the teen's arms.

"What were you dreaming about? You… said something about it hurting." Ichigo said quietly and blue eyes met brown for a moment. Grimmjow was surprised to read guilt in those warm orbs.

"Just my stay with the shinigami." He said and patted Kurosaki's shoulder as the teen winced. "Nothin' important. I'll be fine." He would be fine. It might take a while, but he would be fine.

"Okay." Ichigo said quietly but his eyes were still troubled, and Grimmjow had the feeling this discussion wasn't over. But he wasn't going to continue it if Kurosaki wasn't. So he pulled himself to his feet, feeling drained, and went to go take a shower.

The shower made him feel better, like he could wash the stink of blood and pain away with the hot water. An illusion, of course, but it still made him feel better. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the shower and finished getting ready for the day.

The new clothes Ishida had made him were really nice. He especially loved the leopard print shirts, and he wore one today, going downstairs to catch some breakfast. His first day of work was going to start in three days, so there were no more interviews. The one that he'd felt had gone really well was the one that had finally landed him a spot. Grimmjow was eager to get started earning some money. He figured it was like bringing home a kill, and that was important, especially since Ichigo was technically a cub.

Grimmjow accepted a mug of coffee from Ichigo and sipped it as the teen made them both some eggs. The kitchen really wasn't big enough for the two of them to cook, so they took turns, whenever Yuzu and Karin weren't doing it. No one let Ichigo's dad anywhere near the stove. Apparently bad things happened when Isshin tried to cook.

He accepted the eggs from Ichigo and they ate in silence for a moment. It wasn't a comfortable silence, though. Grimmjow could see Kurosaki giving him glances, clearly trying to nerve himself up to something, and sighed to himself. He really, really didn't want to talk about it. But he figured he was about to be forced to.

"Grimmjow… you've been having nightmares ever since you let me, um, be inside you." He said and Grimmjow winced. He'd hoped Kurosaki wouldn't notice that detail. "They didn't… I mean, they wouldn't…" Ichigo ground to a halt, his eyes silently pleading for the ex-Espada to tell him no, it hadn't happened. And he was tempted to lie, but it would be foolish. The effects were going to linger for a long time.

"It's the simplest way to break someone, Ichigo. Of course they did." He said wearily, taking a deep drink of his coffee. "It doesn't matter. It's over." The teen suddenly scowled, his hand tightening on his teacup.

"What do you mean, it doesn't matter? Who was it?" He demanded, anger, no, almost rage in his voice. Grimmjow blinked and scowled right back. He knew where this was going and he wasn't going to allow it.

"I said it doesn't matter. She was just doing her job." Ichigo looked at him in disbelief and Grimmjow favored him with a glare. "Look. If you think I refused to torture shinigami when Aizen told me to, you'd be wrong." Ichigo swallowed, his disbelief turning to sickness. "So it was just her job. That's it. It's over and that's all that matters."

"You're… okay with that?" Ichigo said softly and Grimmjow sighed, looking into his coffee mug. "Don't you want revenge?" He had trouble believing the ex-Espada could accept his violation so tamely. Grimmjow grimaced, looking up from his mug.

"If you're talking about my emotions, I'd love to see the bitch dead and bleeding. Not to mention the clown-faced freak." He said bluntly. "But my head says it's pointless. She was just a hired hand. I would love to see that damned scientist dead, though." His head said that the scientist freak was far more dangerous to him now than the woman. This whole gigai was his experiment. Urahara had checked it over, but it still made him very nervous. Ichigo was still looking at him and Grimmjow shrugged irritably. "Look, she didn't get off on it. It's not worth you gettin' yourself into trouble over." And that was the crux of the matter. He didn't want Kurosaki haring off on a wild quest for justice over something that was just how the world worked. He'd known exactly what was going to happen as soon as the grey eyed bastard said the words of the sleep kido. "Just let it go."

"…If that's what you want." Kurosaki sounded troubled and Grimmjow nodded, hoping the teen would be able to live with it. "Would you like to come hang out with my friends again? We're going to play soccer."

"Oh yeah? Sure, why not. I don't know how soccer goes, though." He cautioned the teen. Soccer was not a game played in Los Noches, at all. Ichigo smiled, finishing his eggs.

"It's easy. You just have to get the ball into the other teams net. Oh, and you can't hold the ball with your hands. You can block it with your chest and hit it with your head, but everything else has to be done with your feet." He said. Grimmjow nodded, wondering what it would be like.

As it turned out, it was pretty fun. They didn't have enough normal people for two teams, so someone had gotten the cat woman and the midget to play. Ichigo was playing both sides, sort of, using his mod soul. Grimmjow found himself at a disadvantage as the only somewhat normal person on the playing field. Even the mod soul could do some weird shit.

"Damnit!" He swore after the fourth time he lost the ball to the cat woman. "When I get some powers back, I am going to fuck up your shit!" She laughed, flashing a bare bottom at him before giving the ball an almighty kick. Then she flashed back into being a cat.

"Good luck, Espada." The shockingly male voice of the cat said, before she leapt away. Sighing, Grimmjow considered just giving up. But he was just too damned stupid and stubborn. Pushing himself up, he went back into the fray.

He'd be damned if he'd just give up.

* * *

Grimmjow worked on an engine, growling softly to himself.

He liked the work, he really did. He was already sure that he was one of the very best mechanics in the place. He could make shit happen faster than men who had been there for years, although given that he had no idea how old his mechanic's soul had been when he died, maybe he'd been doing it a lot longer. There was no way to be sure.

However, Grimmjow was not fond of the people. He'd made some serious mistakes already, and had a feeling he was going to be in trouble when his probationary period was over. One of the biggest mistakes had been casually admitting he was seeing a man. It hadn't occurred to Grimmjow that it would be a problem. Arrancar certainly didn't give a shit about that sort of thing. But it seemed that humans did, and several of the guys were on his case about it. They were being careful, though, wary of his size and muscles. That only made it more annoying, in the ex-Espada's opinion. He'd have welcomed a stand up fight.

The real problem, though, was his boss. Not the manager, but the owner. Manager Todd was a stand up kind of guy, and he didn't give a fig if he fucked bears or wore a tutu on weekends. All he cared about was Grimmjow's stats, and they were fucking excellent. The owner, though, was another kettle of fish. He thought that no man with blue hair should be employed in his shop. The fact that he was bisexual and into a guy was also a big strike against him, with that dickhead. Grimmjow had overheard him bitching to Todd about his decision to hire him.

So he wondered how long he'd be here. But Grimmjow was going to make the best of it. Isshin wasn't charging him a lot for rent, which was fair given that he was sleeping on the floor. Even if this job only lasted a month, he'd have some money to give the family. That was something.

Going for his break, he paused to get a soda from the vending machine and blinked as he overheard a one sided conversation.

"…Well, you know how Andre is. The guy has blue hair, he must be a Satan worshipper, right?" That was Todd talking, clearly speaking into his cell phone with no idea he'd left the office door a little bit open. Grimmjow skulked around, eavesdropping shamelessly. "I'll be honest Roku, he's a bit strange. He's built like a pro-wrestler, he's gay or at least bi, and he's definitely got a temper. But he can turn and burn like you wouldn't believe, and he's one hell of a mechanic. He might be just what you need." Grimmjow blinked, intrigued and almost complimented. Todd already knew him pretty well. There was a long pause as the person on the other end said something the ex-Espada couldn't hear. "I think he already knows Andre is not his best fan, so he might. I'll have to ask."

"Ask me what?" Grimmjow pushed open the door, not giving a damn that he'd been eavesdropping. Todd looked up from his phone, startled. "I heard you mention blue hair and had to listen in." He said casually, leaning against the doorframe. Todd flashed him a grin before speaking into the phone again.

"He just walked in, I'll ask him now. Call you back Roku." Then he hung up, looking at Grimmjow very seriously. "Would you be open to a different employment opportunity?" He asked bluntly and the ex-Espada chuckled softly.

"Of course I would. But what d'you have in mind? I'm not ready to be a male stripper." Although he thought he could probably pull it off, if he put his mind to it. Todd laughed, shaking his head.

"Nothing like that! My father in law needs a very good mechanic urgently." Todd flushed a little, running a hand through his hair. "He's not a gullible man, you understand." Grimmjow blinked, wondering why he would need that qualifier. "But he got hoodwinked. I've never seen anything like it. He owns a fleet of cars for his software business, that his techs use to go to the client's sites. Anyway, they always need maintenance so he keeps an auto-mechanic on staff. His last one retired, so he hired a replacement and the man was a phony. It was incredible; there was absolutely nothing about him that was legitimate. Roku checked all his references but they were more people lying for him… even his name was fake." Todd shook his head sadly. "For six months, he drew a salary and sold the parts that should have been used on the cars. When he was about to be found out, he ran out of town. The cars are all in terrible shape and the company has already caught some violations. The techs are using their own cars right now, but that opens up the possibility of liability, so he needs his cars fixed up yesterday. Would you be interested?"

"Your father in law is okay with me being bi?" Grimmjow said cautiously and Todd gave him a grin.

"He said, and I quote, he doesn't care if you're a drag queen. He just wants his cars running again." He said and Grimmjow laughed, taking a swig of his soda. "I'll be checking your work for a bit, after last time, but if he's satisfied after a month you'll have the job permanently. It'll be just you and thirty or so cars." That was an enthralling vision. Just him? And cars? None of the people skills bullshit? Excellent.

"Sounds good. I assume there's an interview? And what's the salary like?" Grimmjow asked. Might as well ask Todd, who wasn't really interviewing him.

"Yes, Roku wants to meet you and discuss the job with you. It's going to be a lot of work at first." Todd warned and Grimmjow shrugged, unconcerned. He loved working on cars, and the more messed up the better. "The salary is in the sixty thousand dollars a year range." That made his eyes narrow in satisfaction. That was good money. "With four weeks of paid vacation a year."

"Sounds good. When can we meet up, and where?" Todd wrote down the information and placed another call. Roku was willing to make time right away, so they arranged it after work. "I'll be showing up in my jeans." Grimmjow warned and Todd laughed.

"He knows, don't worry about it. After the last guy he'll welcome some honest dirt." Grimmjow went back to his work in a far more cheerful mood. He was still on probation, so he didn't have to give Andre anymore notice than the guy had to give him. And Todd was the manager, so if he took this job it would be up to him to juggle things around. He must have already thought of that.

Time came and went, and Grimmjow caught a ride with Todd over to a private residence. It was a tidy little mansion in a really fine neighborhood, and he approved of the landscaping. Someone had used natural materials and opted for a slightly rustic look, over the usual clipped yards. And the huge garden gnome some thoughtful and tasteless soul had put out added to the look. The house itself was really nice, three stories with a pretty face. It was nothing he'd ever be able to afford, even with sixty thousand a year, but Grimmjow admired it.

Todd escorted him inside and Grimmjow followed his lead, taking off his shoes. He didn't wear socks, but they would just have to deal. His feet looked nice, at least.

The ex-Espada wasn't sure what he'd been expecting of Roku. Physically, he was nothing too surprising as he greeted his son in law. An older man, starting to go bald, probably in his fifties, but in damn good shape for his age. Grimmjow eyed him, wondering who would win an arm wrestling contest. He thought that he likely would, but Roku would give him a good fight.

What he hadn't been expecting at all was the gentle swell of spiritual pressure that filled the room as soon as Roku walked in. It wasn't powerful, not like Ichigo's crazy reiatsu, but it felt trained. If Grimmjow hadn't known better, he'd have thought he was looking at a low level shinigami, one of the weak ones that were pretty much cannon fodder against the arrancar. But that was a pretty impressive amount of power for some random human in the Living World. Who was this guy really?

"So you're Grimmjow." Roku smiled as they shook hands, but the expression didn't reach his eyes. "What are you?" Grimmjow blinked at the blunt question and realized the man was very, very worried by him. He wasn't showing it too much, but Roku was not a happy man. "You're not human." He glanced at Todd and saw his manager was looking at him in alarm. Todd had all the spiritual power of a bowling ball, but apparently he trusted his father in law when he said things like that.

"First, I'd like to know what you are." Grimmjow said, stalling a bit. "You feel almost like a shinigami, but I don't think you are." He was pretty sure this guy was human. Roku smiled but again, it didn't reach his eyes.

"Once upon a time, I was a substitute shinigami." He said calmly. Grimmjow nodded, unsurprised. That explained a lot. Not all substitute shinigami were spiritual nukes like Ichigo. A lot were just, well, tour guides for new shinigami trying to figure out the Living World. Roku clearly had enough power to fight hollows but not a lot more. "But I've been out of circulation for some time. Now, what are you? You feel slightly hollow like, yet, not." Grimmjow grimaced at the reminder. His hollow aura was damn near toast.

"I used to be an arrancar." Roku just frowned at him and Grimmjow realized that maybe he wouldn't know. "You don't know what's been going down the last couple of years?"

"No. Please tell me." He said and Grimmjow organized his thoughts before giving the man a quick rundown of Aizen's treachery and experiments with the hogyoku. He was frowning by the end of it and Todd was looking a bit lost. Then Grimmjow explained about what had happened to him, and the arrangement of his 'parole'. "So I'm basically human now." He shrugged, spreading his hands. "Once this gigai finishes converting me, maybe I'll be a substitute shinigami or something, who knows." The shinigami would have a tough time trusting him, but he was going to be powerful. Leaving him untrained would be stupid as hell. Roku frowned but nodded.

"I see. Well, Grimmjow, I think I would be interested in taking you on. But do not mention that I used to be a substitute shinigami to anyone. I left Soul Society under a cloud, and while they've probably forgotten me, I would prefer to keep it that way." He said. Grimmjow blinked, wondering what kind of trouble he'd gotten into, but decided not to ask. It really wasn't his business. Knowing Soul Society, it had probably been something stupid anyway. "Now, how much salary were you expecting?" The supernatural squared away, they got down to the brass tacks of what Grimmjow would be getting for his work. Once that was done, all three of them took a ride to the software company, and Grimmjow got to see the cars he'd be working on.

"Tch." He muttered as he looked over started giving them quick look overs. As Roku and Todd had indicated, no maintenance had been done for some time. Even from a cursory inspection, several of the cars had problems that needed immediate attention. "I can get a bunch of them up and running fast. Want me to concentrate on the best ones?" Several of the cars didn't seem to need much. Roku nodded.

"If you could, I would appreciate it. Sooner or later someone is going to have an accident, and then I'll have to pay out of pocket." His expression was sour and Grimmjow just nodded. He didn't really understand all the insurance stuff, but he'd do the best to get the cars back on the road.

"I'll get started right now then." If he was going to be working late, he might as well get started on it.

He had a lot of work ahead of him.

* * *

_The sand was painfully hot under his bare feet._

_Grimmjow was vaguely aware that he was having a nightmare, that it wasn't real. He wasn't in Hueco Mundo, wasn't being forced over the sand by that sadistic bastard Gin. But the part of him that feared this outcome knew otherwise. That part of him believed the dream._

_His pride was gone. Surgically removed by Gin's cold blades, replaced with a weariness that just begged for an ending. The part of him that knew it was a nightmare knew this was the way he imagined the prisoners felt, the ones who were so dazed they were almost impossible to rouse. But Gin could rouse them. Oh yes, he always could. And that was whose hand he felt on his neck now, gripping his hair and pulling him along any time he faltered. The part of him that believed the dream craved an ending to the pain._

_Gin suddenly stopped and Grimmjow stopped with him, wondering if this was the place of his execution. Then his breath caught as he saw blood pooling on the sands. The body was so badly torn he couldn't recognize it, not really. But he could recognize that huge sword, broken in half and coated in blood._

"_He came for you, of course. Such a hero." Gin's mocking tone could not hurt him anymore than the sight in front of him. The ex-shinigami let his hair go, and Grimmjow fell to his knees, his mind strangely numb, cushioned by shock. Why had Ichigo come after him? It hadn't worked the first time, why had he thought it would be different now? But of course he'd come. It was what he did. He protected everyone…_

"_Please kill me." He could hardly recognize his own voice now. It didn't sound like him at all. Gin laughed and touched his shoulder, his hand strangely gentle._

"_That's why we're here. Shoot to kill, shinso." There was nothing but calm and a strange shock –_

* * *

Grimmjow woke up with a jolt and looked around, his eyes wide.

For one terrible, crazy moment he thought he was in Los Noches, under the care of Gin and the other arrancar. But then he slowly calmed as he saw the familiar room, heard the gentle ticking of the clock on the wall. Turning his head, he saw Kurosaki in his bed, still deeply asleep. It was early morning, too early for the teen to be up.

There was no way he was going back to sleep, though, so Grimmjow spent some time watching his mate. Ichigo was always handsome, but he looked so relaxed in his sleep, all the cares of the world falling away. Bright orange hair was badly mussed from the blankets and Grimmjow smiled weakly as the teen muttered and shifted a little, easing some mild ache.

"Don't go after me, Kurosaki. If they capture me again, you need to stay right here." He whispered but even as he said it, Grimmjow knew the words were futile. Ichigo would go after him. He cared too much not to.

Just like Grimmjow cared.


	7. The Horror that is Kon

"Chad?" Orihime was sitting on a small concrete wall, as Chad strummed idly on his guitar. They were just hanging out, waiting for everyone else to arrive at the bus stop. He glanced at her, seeing she was blushing, and made a small interrogative sound. "You… wouldn't be bisexual or gay, would you?"

"Huh?" He blinked, almost breaking a string in surprise. "No. Why?" That question came completely out of left field, and Chad racked his mind trying to think of a reason she would think that. Orihime sighed, but not in relief.

"I just… I'm trying to figure out who Grimmjow's boyfriend is." She admitted and Chad blinked. He hadn't been aware Grimmjow had a boyfriend. "I overheard Karin say he's seeing someone, but I can't figure out who. It can't be someone at his work, he just switched jobs." Another thing Chad hadn't heard about, but then, it really wasn't his business. "I'm sure it's not Ishida and now I know it isn't you. Could it be Ichigo? Could Kurosaki-kun be gay?" She couldn't hide the anxiety in her voice and Chad considered it. He actually thought it was quite likely that Ichigo was gay, but that was clearly not what Orihime wanted to hear.

"It could be Kisuke." He said after a thoughtful moment. "He likes to say he's perverted. Perhaps that means bisexual." That briefly cheered Orihime up, but then she frowned.

"I don't think Grimmjow likes him though." She'd seen the two of them together on occasion, and Urahara was usually putting Grimmjow to work moving something heavy as payment for his services. The former Espada was willing enough, but not overly friendly with the shopkeeper. "Not the way he likes Kurosaki-kun." Chad sighed to himself. This kind of speculation was most definitely not his thing.

"Why don't you just ask him? He would probably tell you." He suggested and Orihime looked horrified.

"I couldn't do that! It would be so embarrassing!" Chad wanted to ask if it would be more embarrassing than asking him about his sexuality, but then the person they were talking about arrived. Pulled up in a car, in fact.

"Hey! How do you guys like my ride?" Chad stared as Grimmjow jumped out of the car, grinning ear to ear. "Fucking awesome, hey?"

"Where did you get it?" Orihime asked, distracted from her concerns by the vehicle Grimmjow was driving. It was a Lexus SUV, big enough to carry all of them and quite expensive looking. It had a custom paint job, black with very nice red detailing. Grimmjow patted the vehicle possessively before paying the parking meter.

"I blew my boss this morning, and he agreed to let me borrow it for a while." Orihime's eyes went wide at that, but Chad assumed it was a joke. "Actually, I just finished fixing up his cars. Man, that was a shitload of work!" They both nodded. Grimmjow had been effectively AWOL from everything for a solid two weeks. Not even Ichigo had been seeing much of him. "But it's done, so now the daily grind is gonna be a lot nicer. I figured we could all go out to celebrate. I even have the money for it! I just got paid." Grimmjow was so happy that it was almost beaming from him. Chad couldn't help but smile, and saw Orihime was feeling the same way.

"Hey guys!" Chad glanced down the road and saw Ichigo and Ishida. Ichigo looked nearly as happy as Grimmjow and was holding his cell phone. "I got your text, Grimm. Is this the car? Nice!"

"Sure is. Maybe someday I'll buy one, although it's kinda big." It was definitely a family sized SUV. "And I'm fucking starving. Who's up for pizza?" That idea went over well, and everyone piled into the SUV. They found the interior was even more luxurious than the exterior.

"This thing has a TV and a mini-bar! …And there's stuff in it!" Ichigo said, opening up the fridge. Chad took one look and closed it. "Hey!"

"It's alcohol." He informed Kurosaki, who blinked and opened the fridge to take another look.

"No, it's not, its ginger beer. See?" He pulled out a bottle and Chad looked at it more closely before nodding. Ichigo was right, it was non-alcoholic. Which made sense, given that this was a car and open alcohol was against the law.

"Yeah, whatever, leave it alone Ichi. The bosses' kid's'll be upset if you raid their stash." Grimmjow said as he changed lanes. This was the first time any of them had been in a car with him, but he'd easily gotten his license and seemed to be a very safe, conservative driver. Ichigo grinned, putting the beer away.

The pizza place was in the middle of downtown Karakura, so finding parking was a challenge. But Grimmjow managed it handily, parallel parking with admirable efficiency.

"My father will never parallel park. I'm impressed." Uryuu said as he glanced over Grimmjow's handiwork. The blue haired man shrugged as he glanced around.

"It's nothin' much – oi, Ichigo!" Grimmjow frowned as the teen glanced around, clearly sensing something. Then the ex-Espada tensed. "Well fuck!" He could sense the hollow reiatsu clearly. Evaluating his own aura, he realized with dismay that it was probably being attracted to him. There was no hollow left in him at all. Grimmjow was human, now. Or at least, a decent approximation.

"I'll be back guys. Get Kon a bit of pizza while I'm gone." Ichigo pulled out his mod soul pill, swallowing it and popping out of his body. Grimmjow watched in frustration, wishing he could leave his gigai behind. He would have to speak to Kisuke about that soon. If his hollow reiatsu was really gone, it was time he got some soul reaper training.

"What was that about pizza?" The mod soul said with a grin and Grimmjow shrugged. Kon probably didn't get a chance to eat a lot, he was guessing.

Soon they were ensconced in one of the booths at the pizza parlor and Grimmjow looked over the menu thoughtfully. The only pizza he'd had so far was mushrooms with extra anchovies, which was Isshin's favorite. The rest of the Kurosaki clan had left it all to them, and he hadn't even gotten a sniff of their pepperoni pizza. He licked his lips, though, when he saw the seafood medley pizza. It was probably because he still had some relation to cats, but he loved seafood. They placed their orders and Grimmjow sighed to himself as Kon ordered extra anchovies. He quickly changed his order to pepperoni and made it an extra-large.

"Grimmjow? Are you going to eat all that? The pizza's here are pretty big." Inoue asked and Grimmjow laughed, taking a sip of his water.

"Fuck no. I'm gonna be sharing with Kurosaki, because there is no way in hell he'll be eating Kon's pizza. You did that just to fuck with him, didn't you?" He asked the mod soul, who gave him a shit eating grin.

"Maybe." He said and Grimmjow shrugged, unconcerned with the little feud. He'd eat some of the extra anchovy pizza, and the rest they could take home to Ichigo's dad. He'd be more than willing to eat cold pizza, so nothing would go to waste. Grimmjow noticed that Inoue was giving him an odd, wounded look.

"What?" He asked her, puzzled, and she looked down into her water.

"Nothing." She said softly and he frowned. But before he could pursue it, the pizza arrived. Kon eagerly dug into his and Grimmjow carefully tried the pepperoni, blowing on the cheese to make sure he wouldn't burn his mouth. It was pretty good, although he still wished he'd gotten the seafood pizza. He didn't know if Ichigo would like that, though. Pepperoni was definitely his favorite.

"So any good sewing projects going on?" He asked Ishida, getting the conversational ball rolling. He was interested to hear the kid's plans for some suits for Kon, which made the mod soul wince and mutter something about getting revenge on them all. "Make him something with lots of rhinestones. Like, an Elvis suit." Grimmjow suggested. That made Ishida laugh and Kon perk up.

"Elvis? Chicks dig Elvis, don't they? Orihime-chan, would you hug me if I looked like Elvis?" Kon leaned closer to her and Grimmjow lifted an eyebrow as he saw her cheeks go very pink. He doubted she felt much for the fuzzy little bastard, but he was wearing Ichigo's body at the moment. That was… interesting.

"Maybe." She said with a small smile and Kon practically squealed in joy. Ishida sighed, adjusting his glasses.

"Elvis it is. I'll see what I can – ah." Kurosaki was back, and Kon whined as the shinigami slipped through the restaurant. The mod soul tried to quickly finish off a final piece of pizza, but gave up as Ichigo jumped back into his body and forced him out. Kurosaki caught the pill with the ease of long practice, putting it back into his pill dispenser.

"Well, that wasn't to – oh my god, what was he eating?!" Ichigo gagged, gripping his throat and looking at the pizza in revulsion. Grimmjow picked up his plate and quickly exchanged them, making him blink. "Grimmjow?"

"He got olives and extra anchovies." He explained and had the pleasure of seeing Kurosaki go green. "So I got you some pepperoni. I don't mind this shit." It wasn't his favorite, but he wasn't picky. And he did like anchovies. Ichigo shook his head and started eating.

"Kon is such a pain in the ass sometimes." He muttered and Grimmjow silently agreed as he ate the incredibly salty, fishy pizza. He had to drink plenty of water to get it down, but he was hungry enough to do it. "Sorry Grimmjow. That was very thoughtful of you, I really appreciate it."

"It's nothin'." He waved off the thanks, noticing the same wounded look from Inoue. Ishida had noticed too, if he was any judge, because the Quincy was trying to distract her with some questions about a new recipe she was making. Since everyone hated her original recipes, it was a pretty good bet he wasn't asking because he wanted to try it.

They all finished their pizza, then debated what to do next. The final verdict was laser tag, since Chad had some coupons for it. Grimmjow picked up the tab for the food, but they were each paying their own way for the tag. He offered to cover it, but the others quickly scuttled the idea.

"We have our allowances; it's not a problem Grimm." Ichigo said firmly and Grimmjow shrugged, not sure what to say. He'd gotten a bonus for all his work the past few weeks, but he wasn't sure how to tell Ichigo that he'd gotten paid almost six thousand dollars in one go. How would the teen react?

"If that's how you want it." Grimmjow said, but made a mental note to talk to Isshin about the rent. Maybe they should up it, so he'd be paying part of the grocery bill. He did eat quite a bit, and he wanted to help out. He needed to help out.

It was all part of having a mate.

* * *

"This game is fucking fun." Grimmjow marveled at his cell phone, trying to kill pigs with exploding birds. "I love this shit." It really took some skill, making things go boom.

It was the middle of the week, and he had a day off. Sometimes Roku wanted him around on Saturdays, and when that happened he got a random weekday off. This week, it was Friday, which was kinda nice. Ichigo would be able to stay up late and they could have some fun while everyone else was sleeping.

Grimmjow frowned at the thought, shutting off his phone. That was one thing that was getting very tiring about his relationship with Ichigo. All the pussyfooting around his family was annoying at best, infuriating at worst. Grimmjow still didn't understand how they could think Ichigo was a cub. His body was fully developed, without question, and he fought hollows all the damn time. If things went to shit tomorrow, Ichigo could handle himself just fine. What was immature about him?

"Humans are weird as fuck." He muttered, then sighed to himself. "Be patient you stupid bastard." That was directed at himself. If he wanted to keep Ichigo as his mate, he had to be patient. Pissing off Kurosaki's family would not help his chances at all. Then the door opened and Grimmjow looked up, surprised. It was barely noon. Who would be coming home this time of day?

To his even deeper surprise, it was Ichigo. There was a bandage on his head and Grimmjow frowned as he saw blood had leaked through it a bit. But the teen just shut the door, tossing his schoolbag onto a chair before heading towards him with a purposeful stride.

"What the hell happened to y- mph!" Grimmjow was shocked as Kurosaki pinned him down to the couch and stuck his tongue into his mouth. The attention was so dominant, so unexpected that he almost bit the teen before getting control of himself. "What the fuck, Ichigo?" He asked as the kiss ended and Kurosaki grinned at him, eyes narrowing wickedly.

"I had a bit of an accident and got sent home early. And I want you. No one's going to be home until four." Ichigo said, sliding a hand over his thigh and pausing to rub the palm of his hand against the bulge in his jeans. Grimmjow swallowed as that bulge got appreciably larger. "Let's have sex." The stare Ichigo gave him was direct and unbelievably sexy. Grimmjow yanked the teen into another kiss, this time not fighting it as Ichigo tried to dominate him.

Ichigo pushed him back onto the couch and Grimmjow went with it, ruthlessly controlling a shiver of memory. But when Kurosaki tried to hold his wrists over his head, he scowled and squirmed.

"Stop that." He said, his voice gruff. He might be able to break Ichigo's hold, or he might not. But the teen should know why he didn't like it, after seeing him in chains. But it was like he didn't care, just rubbing his body against the former Espada. "Hey, let go!" He yanked at the restraining hands and Ichigo blinked, letting go of him.

"Sorry." He muttered and Grimmjow frowned. He didn't see how Kurosaki could forget something like that. "I just want you so bad." He said soothingly and Grimmjow relaxed a bit as fingers slid through his hair, finding the back of his neck and digging in gently.

"Yeah? Well, then take me, Kurosaki." He said tauntingly and had the pleasure of seeing Ichigo swallow, a bit of sweat beading on that beautifully tanned skin. The teen undid his pants, tossing the fabric onto the floor before almost tearing away Grimmjow's jeans. The shirts they left on, far too concerned about fucking each other to bother removing them. And there was something sexy about being partially clothed and grinding against each other like a pair of animals. Grimmjow bit Ichigo's neck, just below his ear, and savored the gasp of pain and pleasure he received in response. Then he stiffened as Kurosaki's cock brushed at his entrance. Wasn't he going to…?

"Hnn!" Grimmjow grunted in pain and tried to relax as the teen began to ease into him. He was dry and not ready at all, but he did his best to accommodate the penetration. It wasn't easy, and when a particularly brutal memory came back he had to fight not to dry heave. "F-Fuck… Kurosaki… that hurts…" He grated out, trying to understand what had gotten into Ichigo.

"Feels great to me." The teen breathed in his ear and Grimmjow felt like snarling. But instead he struggled to relax and accept. He didn't know why Ichigo suddenly wanted it rough, but he… loved the kid. He'd take this from him. Then Ichigo began to move inside him and Grimmjow whimpered softly in pain. It hurt, it really hurt and there was no way to get around that.

Then Kurosaki found his prostate, and the pain turned into something better. It still hurt, but Grimmjow found himself almost craving the pain as pleasure flowed through his body. Then Ichigo's hand went around his cock, stroking him and getting him really hard again. The teen speeded up and Grimmjow gasped, making sounds that were somewhere between cries of pain and moans of pleasure. As the sex went on, he found it hard to tell where the pain ended and the pleasure began. It reminded him a little of his first time with his first mate. That had hurt, too, until the pheromones had started hitting him.

Maybe it was because he wasn't fully accepting, but the sex went on for a long time. Ichigo seemed to be trying to make him come first, and Grimmjow was finding it hard to reach his climax. Even though his insides were being rubbed raw and part of him really wanted it to end, despite how good it felt, he couldn't. Ichigo growled and plunged into him harder, forcing his legs out at an almost painful angle and Grimmjow groaned as his prostate was hit dead on several times in quick succession. He finally released with a howl, then groaned as Ichigo filled his abused insides with his hot seed. It hurt, stinging him, and as the teen pulled away the former Espada glanced down. He was unsurprised to see thin lines of blood on his thighs, and more on Ichigo's penis.

"You like it rough now?" He asked, feeling dazed, confused and almost betrayed as he looked into warm brown eyes. Ichigo blinked at him then glanced down with a frown, wincing as he saw the blood.

"Sorry. Here, let me clean that off for you." He said, moving down. Grimmjow was about to object when a warm tongue slid along the inside of his thighs, lapping up the semen and blood. Grimmjow swallowed, watching Ichigo's throat move as he swallowed, his agile tongue removing the mess. That was… sexy as hell. It was also pretty strange.

"I don't know what's gotten into you, Ichi, but this is getting pretty wild." He muttered, unsure if he liked it. But Kurosaki shot him a grin and Grimmjow gave in. That licking was already getting him hard again. "I want to take you this time." He wanted to put his cock into Kurosaki's warm body, but he'd prepare the teen, even if he didn't deserve it. Kurosaki wasn't a hollow, he wouldn't be used to painful sex.

"Mmm, that would be wonderful." Ichigo murmured and Grimmjow had no warning before the teen suddenly took his cock into his mouth. "Mmm." Ichigo made a muffled sound of pleasure as Grimmjow thrust into that warm, hot cavern surrounding him. He mentally forgave the teen for the pain he'd just been put through, as Ichigo blissfully tormented him with his wonderful, oh so flexible tongue. "Mmm." Kurosaki finally pulled away, grinning, and turned away from him, going onto all fours on the couch. "Doggy style, Grimm."

"Doggy? I'm a fucking cat, you dumbass." Grimmjow muttered but wasted no time working on Ichigo, wetting his fingers before using them to open up the teen. The shinigami moaned wantonly, pushing against his fingers. "Shit." He breathed as he gently prepared the teen. Kurosaki was incredibly eager today, and it was hot as hell. Grimmjow decided he couldn't wait any longer and pulled his hand away, shoving into the teen with one quick, powerful movement. Ichigo gasped then moaned as he brushed the teen's prostate. "You like that, huh?" Grimmjow breathed in his ear as he molded himself to the teen's lovely back. He began to take Ichigo with a quick, powerful pace, letting his dominance and strength show with every thrust. After that earlier sex, he wanted to show Ichigo his own dominant side. He was every bit as strong as the hybrid.

The body under him seemed to appreciate it, and Ichigo quivered in pleasure as Grimmjow jacked him off, stroking and squeezing him in time with the thrusts. Ichigo's moans and gasps were becoming completely incoherent as the teen surrendered to the pleasure. Grimmjow growled in satisfaction, pleased at the responses he was getting, and increased his pace until he was pounding into his mate mercilessly. It felt so damn good, having Ichigo's tight muscles gripping him, playing around his cock. Ichigo reached his climax without any warning, shooting his come onto the couch as Grimmjow grunted, filling the teen with his seed.

As the spasms of pleasure eased, Grimmjow sat back, pulling out of Ichigo's body with the soft sound of flesh against flesh. The teen was gasping and trembling, his eyes closed and head lowered to the pillows of the couch. Grimmjow leaned forward again, gently kissing his beautiful mate on the cheek. The sex had been amazing, if kind of strange, and he –

"Kon!" Grimmjow felt absolute horror crawl up his spine as Ichigo climbed through the window. The spirit Ichigo, in his soul reaper robes, carrying his zanpakuto. "Why did you leave school early? I've been looking for you for – " Ichigo stopped dead as he took in the scene in front of him. There was a ghastly pause, broken only by the gasps of the exhausted mod soul. Then Grimmjow's fist hit the couch, so hard that the cushions split and revealed the stuffing beneath.

"You disgusting little…!" He lifted the mod soul up by the collar of his shirt, his vision going red as Kon looked at him wide eyed. Grimmjow wanted to beat the living shit out of the mod soul, wanted to make him bleed and cry. But the body he was wearing was Kurosaki's, and he wasn't going to inflict pain on his mate. Instead he slammed his fist into the wall beside Kon's head, making the mod souls' eyes go wider as he cracked the plaster and left flecks of blood behind. "You deal with him, Kurosaki!" He tossed Ichigo's body at him before running out of the room, towards the shower. He needed a shower. He heard Ichigo's voice raised in fury, but ignored it as he turned the water on.

Grimmjow had never felt this violated in his life.


	8. Comfort, the Past, and Present Danger

"Kon, what the fuck is wrong with you?!" To say Ichigo was furious would have been a vast understatement. He'd forced the mod soul out of his body and back into the plushy, so he could abuse it properly. He could hear the water running and while he wanted to go comfort Grimmjow, he didn't think physical contact would be welcome at the moment.

"Nii-san! I just – I lost control of my animal instincts! I've been listening to you have sex all the time!" Kon blubbered as he was shaken by his head by the infuriated teen. "I just w-wanted to know what it was like!"

"So you used Grimmjow, like a kleenex to jack off on!" Ichigo roared, throwing the plushy into the wall before stomping on it. "That's disgusting, Kon!"

"I – I didn't think of it like that…" The plushy whimpered and Ichigo's eyes narrowed. He thought that was true. Kon could be incredibly thoughtless of other people's feelings, sometimes. Not that that made things even remotely better.

"And I thought you were straight. You're always trying to boob grab and get panty shots." He snarled, his anger cooling a little. Not much, though. He really wanted to stomp on Kon until all his stuffing came out, but that would kill the mod soul. And he wasn't quite ready to go that far. Almost, but not quite.

"I thought I was too, but then I saw the two of you…" Kon trailed off, realizing he was just digging his own grave. "I'm so sorry Ichigo!" Tears welled up in the plushies' eyes, a neat trick for a stuffed animal. Ichigo sighed, picking up the toy.

"Some things, sorry doesn't fix Kon. You're staying in dad's room until Grimmjow calms down." Ichigo didn't really want to put the mod soul with Isshin, but he definitely wasn't going to let the little pervert loose in Karin's or Yuzu's rooms. And Grimmjow just did not need to see him right now. He wasn't sure if Grimmjow would ever want to see the plushy again. "I might have to talk to Urahara about getting a new mod soul." He said and winced as that made Kon start to cry.

"Nii-san! You can't send me away! Where will I go? I'm sorry, I really am!" Ichigo sighed as he carried the plushy to Isshin's room, tossing him onto the desk. He hoped his father wouldn't ask about the stuffed toy.

"Shut up, Kon." He said before shutting the door. "Shit." He rubbed a hand over his face, wincing slightly at how sticky he felt. "I need a shower too." The water was still running, and he shook his head before going downstairs. Kon clearly hadn't eaten lunch, so he was starving.

An hour later, the water was still running and Ichigo was starting to feel concerned. The tuna sandwich and apple he'd eaten were a distant memory and the teen was starting to fidget. Finally giving in to his concern, he went to the bathroom and tried the door. Finding it was unlocked, he eased inside.

Ichigo swallowed, hard, as he saw Grimmjow. The crappy plastic curtain didn't do much to hide him, and the former Espada was sitting in the corner of the tub, his arms around himself as the hot water ran over him. His hair was plastered to his head and draped over his face, hiding his eyes, and his skin was red from the heat of the water. He looked absolutely miserable.

"Grimmjow?" Ichigo spoke as softly and gently as he could, but the former Espada still started at the sound. "You've been in there for a while. Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" Grimmjow snarled and Ichigo winced, looking away. Then the blue haired man took a deep, shaking breath and forced himself to his feet. "I'll be fine. Just give me a bit of time, Kurosaki."

"Ichigo." He corrected. Using his last name was Grimmjow's way of keeping a distance. "You know, you always say you're going to be fine." Ichigo said softly, catching the flicker in bright blue eyes. "It's okay not to be fine, Grimm." Grimmjow shook his head, turning off the water and stepping out of the shower. Ichigo caught his arm as his feet skidded on the damp shower tiles.

"I don't show weakness. No hollow does." Grimmjow muttered, reaching for a towel. Then he twitched as Ichigo gently hugged him from behind, ignoring the water staining his clothes.

"You're not a hollow anymore, and I'm your mate. If you can't show weakness to your mate, who can you show it to?" He asked and frowned as Grimmjow looked away. "If you say 'no one' I'm going to kick your ass." Ichigo said firmly, getting a chuckle out of the ex-Espada.

"Yeah, well, it was the truth as a hollow." Then Grimmjow turned around in his arms and Ichigo smiled as he found himself enfolded in a warm embrace. Grimmjow's eyes were warmer now, and he was smiling almost naturally. "But I guess you're right, I'm not a hollow anymore." Ichigo blinked, surprised at the pleasure in his lovers voice. "You haven't taken a look at me in a while, have you? I know your reiatsu sensing sucks, Ichigo, but take a look." Ichigo paused, pulling back a bit so he could really get a read on Grimmjow's aura.

"Oh." He breathed as he sensed the powerful reiatsu. It was raw, untrained and completely untouched with any hollow power. "Grimmjow…" Ichigo couldn't resist, and kissed the ex-Espada, drawing him close again. There was a brief moment of resistance before Grimmjow melted against him, returning the gentle, loving kiss. "I love you." He whispered in the other man's ear, not really expecting the former hollow to return the sentiment. Not because he didn't feel it, but because he was allergic to the words.

"I love you too, Ichigo." His shock was total as he heard that soft, warm voice in his ear. Then Ichigo melted completely as Grimmjow nuzzled him just below the ear, kissing his skin. "Love you so damn much." Their lips met in a hungry kiss and to Ichigo's surprise, he felt his body stir again. He'd thought Kon had completely exhausted him, but he was a teenager. A breath of wind could make him hard, some days.

To his even greater surprise, Grimmjow was getting aroused again. It wasn't hard to tell, since the ex Espada was still quite naked. They both paused for a moment and Grimmjow glanced down before looking up. Ichigo smiled at the laughter in his blue eyes.

"Now look what you've done, Kurosaki." The tone was affectionate but exasperated and Ichigo couldn't help but pout. What he had done?

"What I've done? What about you?" He countered before sliding his hands through blue hair, pulling Grimmjow in for another kiss. "Mmm." Ichigo savored the feeling of Grimmjow's mouth on his, the intense and intimate connection with his lover. "You taste so good." He murmured, wincing as he realized his pants were painfully tight now. He quickly snapped open the button and yanked them down. His underwear was already missing, he wasn't sure where Kon had tossed it.

"Yeah, but how are we going to do this?" Grimmjow asked, nuzzling his neck and helping him get rid of the shirt. "My ass hurts and I bet yours ain't much better." Ichigo blinked, evaluating his body. He wasn't that sore, but if they did another round he would be.

"How about some frottage?" Ichigo said, rubbing against Grimmjow provocatively. "Like what you did to me the morning after our first time." It had taken a few searches on the internet, but he'd finally found the term for that. He moaned as Grimmjow's hand encircled his cock, deliberately rubbing them together.

"Hold onto that thought." Ichigo turned his head to watch as Grimmjow reached past him and grabbed a jar off the counter. "This'll do. Hm, want to do it right here, against the wall?" Ichigo swallowed hard at the slightly dirty yet titillating idea of having sex in the bathroom.

"Sounds great." He breathed, moving over to the wall beside the tub. Grimmjow poured some of the lotion onto his hands and Ichigo blinked at the smell of lilacs. "Isn't that Yuzu's hand cream?"

"She's got lots, we won't be using it up." Grimmjow assured him and Ichigo moaned softly as warm hands fondled his length. Then he gasped as Grimmjow's hard, hot cock joined his and they were both swiftly stroked together. "Oh yeah." Grimmjow's moan hit him right in the crotch and Ichigo thrust desperately into his hands, deliberately rubbing himself against his mate.

"Grimmjow!" He cried out, letting all of his passion and need enter his voice. Grimmjow responded by giving them both long, slow strokes that threatened to undo his control. "Nnngh!" He held onto his sanity by a thread, refusing to release that quickly. His cock bobbed as he shifted slightly before thrusting up again, trying to get even more friction out of Grimmjow's hands.

"You feel so fucking good, Ichigo." Grimmjow's heavy whisper almost sent him over the edge, but Ichigo hung on, digging his fingers into Grimmjow's shoulders as his knees went weak. "Ah, damn it!" Grimmjow cursed and Ichigo cried out as he felt the ex Espada coming to his release. Letting go of his control, he surged up into Grimmjow's hands, then cried out in pleasure as the world seemed to go white.

Ichigo blinked as he slid down the wall, unable to stand after that intense moment. Grimmjow went with him, falling to his knees and catching him in his arms. Ichigo sighed, cuddling up to the ex Espada. He felt great now, amazing, yet also incredibly drained. Not surprising, given what Kon had already done with his body.

"Want to go take a nap?" He murmured and understood exactly why Grimmjow's expression took on a wary note. "Kon is in dad's room." He added and smiled as he saw the ex Espada relax.

"Then I would love to take a nap." They both stood up, wobbly and sore. Ichigo grabbed his clothing but didn't bother to put it on, just walking naked from the shower to his bedroom. As he walked in, he checked the time on the alarm clock. It was three thirty. They wouldn't have a lot of time to nap, but they would have some time.

Hopefully, by the time everyone got home, he and Grimmjow would be recovered from the day's events.

* * *

Grimmjow muttered to himself as a cold wind cut into him as he worked on one of the cars.

It was his own damn fault, really. The cars were parked outside, although he could bring them into the garage when they needed more in depth work. But for general crap, he often worked on them out in the parking lot. Which would have been fine if he'd worn a jacket. But he didn't own one yet, and that was his own damn fault too. He hadn't gotten around to hitting up the mall, and he didn't want to ask Ishida to make all his clothes. He had plenty of money to buy them with, these days.

Finishing his work, he shut the hood of the car and went inside to go warm up. It was autumn, and while it never got too cold in Karakura town it was starting to get a little chilly, especially after dark. It wasn't dark yet, but the sun was beginning to set, and Grimmjow checked the clock. It was almost seven.

"Got caught up in my work. Oh well." He shrugged to himself. It was a Tuesday, so Ichigo would be busy with his schoolwork anyway. The weekends were time for play. Stopping by the rather nice coffee dispenser, he plugged in fifty cents and got his shot of caffeine. "Ah." The heat of it was welcome and he cupped his hands around the Styrofoam. Then he blinked as he heard a clattering sound. Following it, he was surprised to see that the light in Roku's office was on and the boss was typing away at his computer. Walking up to the office, he pushed the door open. It had only been partially shut.

"Hey boss, you're here kinda late." He said conversationally, sipping his coffee. "Would you like some coffee? Just fifty cents." Roku looked up at him with a smile, stopping his typing.

"I'll be fine. I don't have fifty cents anyway. Aren't you here a bit late, too?" Roku sounded curious and Grimmjow shrugged. "We closed at six."

"I got off to a slow start this morning, so I made up for it by staying late." He said truthfully. For some reason, he'd just been sluggish about waking up this morning. Maybe it had been the lemon bars Yuzu had made the night before. Those things had been amazing and he'd eaten far too many. "Why are you around?" Roku grimaced slightly, leaning back in his chair.

"My wife has taken the kids to go see her parents. We don't get along very well, they think I practice black magic or something." Roku's tone was very dry and Grimmjow laughed. "They've felt that ever since I saved her life."

"Oh yeah? Ungrateful bastards." Grimmjow said, drinking his coffee. He was pleased to see Roku laugh. "How'd you do that? Saved her from a hollow?" That was the first thing that sprang to mind. Roku hesitated, frowning slightly.

"I suppose you might as well know. I was never a spiritual powerhouse like you, or your Ichigo." Grimmjow nodded. Roku had seen Ichigo a few times, stopping by to check on him. "But I used to be much, much stronger than I am now. I had a shikai, and there was a small chance I might have achieved bankai."

"Really?" Grimmjow eyed him in surprise. There was no sign of that level of power now. "What happened?" He couldn't imagine how his decrease in power was connected to saving his wife.

"I met my wife when we were both twenty." Roku smiled, fondly remembering the past. "She's spiritually aware – you've met her, you know that – " Grimmjow nodded. His wife was a soft, sweet woman with enough reiatsu to see ghosts but nothing more. "So she was able to accept my duties as a substitute shinigami. I think that's important for people like us, having others who understand what we're going through. But anyway, after three years of married bliss she was diagnosed with a terminal illness." Roku's tone was grim, now, and Grimmjow winced. "The doctor's had a long name for it and some ridiculous theories, but I could tell it was a spiritual wasting disease. Her spiritual centres were decaying." Grimmjow blinked. He'd never heard of such a thing before. "They gave her a year to live. So I did the only thing I could do. I began sacrificing my own spiritual pressure to salvage hers."

"Uh, wow." Grimmjow was impressed, and understood exactly what the problem was. Ichigo was beginning his training, and he'd already been told about forbidden kido. "So that's why the soul reapers kicked you out?" He asked and Roku shook his head.

"No, that's why I left behind my badge and took a one way train out of Tokyo." Roku corrected and Grimmjow just looked at him, slightly puzzled. "You realize the substitute shinigami badge is a tracker, right?"

"What? No way!" Grimmjow exclaimed, then frowned. "That explains how the midget could always find us." He'd assumed the clown faced freak had put a tracker in his gigai, and maybe he had, but it seemed Ichigo was carrying around his own bug. "Huh." He wasn't sure he liked that. Roku shrugged.

"It seems like a violation of privacy, but if you think about it, it's actually necessary. Soul reapers often use substitute shinigami as tour guides, and it's not much use if they have to search the whole city to find their contact." Grimmjow frowned but nodded. That did make sense, especially for places like Tokyo. Find a person in Tokyo? Ouch.

"Well, I'll keep that in mind if we ever want to ditch this popsicle stand. So you made a run for it and they never found you." He said and Roku shrugged.

"I doubt they looked very hard. I was never much of a threat, and if they realized what I was doing, I was even less of a threat." Roku looked at his computer for a moment then shook his head, turning it off. "I think that's enough for tonight. Would you like a ride home?" Grimmjow grinned. That thought had actually been on his mind the whole time. He wasn't eager to freeze at the bus stop, and he didn't have his own car yet.

"I thought you would never ask." He said and Roku laughed, standing up from his desk. The older man pulled on a black blazer and they walked outside in companionable silence. Then Grimmjow almost ran into him as Roku abruptly halted.

"I sense something." He said quietly and Grimmjow frowned, trying to do some sensing of his own. But his talent was raw and untrained compared to Roku's. "It feels like a hollow, but it is… powerful." Grimmjow froze for a moment, then his probing took on an extra urgency. When he caught the scent of the reiatsu he growled, stepping back.

"Arrancar. Let's go back inside." He said urgently, hoping whoever it was hadn't caught a glimpse of him. They wouldn't be able to recognize his reiatsu anymore, which was something. Then they both froze as a mocking laugh rang out.

"Too late. The former sexta Espada, Grimmjow! This is truly my lucky day!" Grimmjow hissed in anger as a low level Numero walked towards them. He recognized the fuck face, he was one of Aizen's 'aides'. Which, as far as Grimmjow could tell, meant tea maker and general suck up. He was a short, very slender hollow with a too pretty face. The fragments of his mask were scattered all through his golden hair. "I wouldn't have even noticed you if it hadn't been for that blue hair. Whatever did they do to you?" The Numero peered at him in what looked like genuine curiosity. Grimmjow growled at him.

"None of your fucking business." He said, sensing Roku readying some kido. Kido was about all the older man had, since he couldn't separate himself from his body without the shinigami badge. The Numero didn't seem to notice, or maybe he just wasn't concerned about what the human might try. "Is Aizen still looking for me? I thought he'd given up." Grimmjow had thought that was the one good thing about his stay in the torture chambers. After a month and a half of no results, Aizen had probably decided he was dead. The Numero laughed.

"Oh, Aizen gave up months ago! We all thought those shinigami had tortured you to death. But it seems they must have had some gratitude for your treachery, after all." Grimmjow scowled, not bothering to correct him. The shinigami had never shown him a damned bit of gratitude. He was sure that if it hadn't been for Ichigo, he'd still be stuck in the clown faced bastards hands. Or maybe, if the bastard lost interest, he'd have been given the mercy stroke. "Well, get out of that wretched thing, would you? You can't fight me like that. And we both know you're going to fight, even if it's pointless." Grimmjow's scowl deepened. The Numero was very confident, so much so that it was insulting.

"I can't, you asshole. It's a special gigai, I can't get out of it." He snarled and the Numero looked interested.

"Really? Well, I'm not taking that back to Aizen. Let's just get you out the hard way then." Grimmjow's eyes widened as Roku fired a fire based kido at the Numero. The Numero blocked it with one hand before leaping forward. Grimmjow tried to dodge but couldn't move fast enough, trapped in a flesh and blood body.

"Hngh!" He grunted in agony, looking down at the hand that had impaled him. Blood was already gushing out, and he gagged on more blood as the Numeros' hand closed on his heart. "That… was… my… best… shirt…" He managed to say, swaying on his feet. The Numero laughed and tore the heart out of his body. Grimmjow caught a glimpse of the slimy, beating organ before he collapsed.

Leaving the gigai was a surprisingly natural thing. Grimmjow slipped out easily and took a quick look at himself. It seemed he wasn't a normal plus soul. There was no chain, probably because the gigai wasn't a real body in the first place. He was wearing clothing pretty much identical to his arrancar uniform, but in black instead of white, and lined with blue. He wanted to give it more attention, but the Numero was attacking. Grimmjow dodged then blocked with his sword, grinning.

"We're gonna see how easy this really is for you, eh?" He taunted the Numero, who laughed and used sonido. Grimmjow swore, trying to use his fledgling flash step to match the Numero's speed.

It was not a great success. Blood exploded from a new cut on his chest, but the Numero cursed as another of Roku's kido hit him. Grimmjow took advantage of the brief distraction to launch his own attack. Blue fire danced along his blade and penetrated the Numero's hierro, but only just barely. His sword raised a small cut along the Numero's cheek.

"My FACE! You unutterable bastard!" Grimmjow wanted to laugh, but he was too busy fending off enraged blows. But he couldn't use sonido and his flash step still sucked. He kept up for a rather impressive amount of time, but finally the fledgling shinigami made a mistake.

"HAH!" The Numero screeched in triumph as he drove his hand into Grimmjow's gut. The ex Espada doubled over, reminded irresistibly of the hole he'd put in Rukia. He'd have to remember to apologize to the midget, if he survived. It really fucking hurt. Then the Numero twisted his hand and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. "That's taking the fight out of you, isn't it?" He said with malicious satisfaction as he withdrew his bloodstained hand. Grimmjow knelt on the pavement, blood dripping onto the hard concrete as he struggled to stay conscious. Another kido hit the arrancar and he screamed in frustration. "You stupid human, I have had about enough of you!"

"No!" Grimmjow tried to lunge forward as the Numero went after Roku. The old man wouldn't stand a chance, not without his shinigami badge. But to everyone's surprise, the Numero's lunge ended with his sword hitting a much larger blade. "Ichigo." Grimmjow felt faint with relief. The teen was giving the Numero his best hard as nails look, and the Numero immediately tried to run. "Don't let him get away!" Grimmjow yelped. If the Numero escaped, he'd let Aizen know that he was still alive. Ichigo didn't bother to answer, just went after the Numero with murder on his mind. Grimmjow didn't see the ending, but he did hear the Numero's despairing scream. Smiling, he let himself slump to the ground and just enjoy Roku's healing kido. There might not be much power behind it, but his boss definitely knew his kido. Grimmjow figured he would probably survive.

The midget had, and he was tougher than Rukia.


	9. An Accident

Ichigo fought the Numero brutally, dispatching him as quickly as he could. He desperately wanted to go back to Grimmjow. He'd caught a glimpse of the ex-Espada's wounds, and he didn't think it was good. As soon as the Numero was dead and disappearing, he flash stepped back to the parking lot.

As it turned out, he was slightly wrong. Grimmjow's injuries might be severe, but the blue haired man was extremely tough. He was sitting up, idly poking at his fallen gigai with the tip of his sword as Roku tried to give him more healing. Ichigo could tell that the older man's reiatsu was almost completely tapped out, though. He just didn't have any more healing to give.

"Hey Ichigo. It looks like I am one hell of a bleeder. What are we going to do about this?" Grimmjow tried to stand and winced, gripping his stomach. "Fuck. Remind me to apologize to Rukia for that time, this shit is painful isn't it?" Ichigo huffed and gripped his arm, making him sit back down. "Hey!"

"Stop being an idiot. You're badly hurt." Ichigo pushed down the black fabric of Grimmjow's pants, wincing as he got a good view of the wound. "Very badly hurt." He said under his breath. "How can you even move?"

"His head is made of solid bone." Roku answered and Grimmjow glowered as Ichigo laughed. Then Ichigo sat back for a moment, just looking Grimmjow over.

He had changed, of course. The hollow hole was gone, and so were the remains of his hollow mask. His spiritual body still had the marks beside his eyes, which had been missing on the gigai. His clothing was the most striking change. He was still wearing a jacket and hakama, but they were jet black. The spots that had been black on Aizen's uniform were the same blue as Grimmjow's eyes. It wasn't much like a regular shinigami outfit, but it was striking.

"You look beautiful like this." Ichigo said without thinking, meeting intense blue eyes. Grimmjow grinned at him then laughed.

"You tell me this now? Shit, if we tried to have sex it'd kill me!" Ichigo scowled and slapped him upside the head. "Hey, watch it, injured man over here – huh?" They both looked up as Roku came out of the building holding some garbage bags. "What are those for – oh my god, seriously?" Grimmjow watched in fascination and a bit of horror as Roku began shoving his broken gigai into the bag. "Have you had practice with this?"

"Yes, actually. I had to handle broken gigai's several times, usually due to absolute idiocy on the part of a juvenile soul reaper." Roku sounded disgusted and Ichigo shook his head with a smile. He could absolutely see that happening, especially in Tokyo. Karakura town was much safer and Renji had still gotten himself in at least one serious fix. "And we can't just leave them for the police." Roku paused, looking at the heart in disgust. "Excuse me, I'm going to get some paper towels for that." They both watched him go and Grimmjow leaned back with a sigh.

"Very practical and slightly creepy. Ulquiorra would approve. So are we going to go to Kisuke's?" He asked. Ichigo thought about it a moment and nodded.

"He can see if the gigai is fixable, and if not, discard it. Actually, discard it, we should get you a proper gigai. Also a badge and a mod soul." Ichigo frowned. He would have to go through the proper channels to get Grimmjow a substitute shinigami badge. And as for mod souls… "Just don't get a Chappy." He still had a few hard feelings about his encounter with Rukia's Chappy.

"I'm not getting a Kon either." Grimmjow growled and Ichigo winced, gently patting his shoulder. Grimmjow hadn't demanded that he get rid of the mod soul, but the hard feelings were lingering. Then Roku came out, with a roll of paper towels. He used them to get the heart in the bag and sop up some of the blood, adding them to the bag. "Okay. Um. How are we doing this?"

"Roku, do you know Kisuke's shop?" Ichigo asked hopefully but the older man shook his head. "Drat. I guess we should all go together then." He could guide Roku to the shop. Grimmjow tried to stand up again and Ichigo grabbed his arm with a scowl. "Stop being a moron!"

"Hey, we're going right – ah!" Grimmjow made a surprised grunt as Ichigo picked him up, bridal style. "I must be heavy for you." He muttered, gripping the teen's shoulders.

"I'll be fine." Ichigo said and carried him without much sign of strain as Roku led them to one of the company vans. The older man was carrying the garbage bag, also without much sign of strain. He quickly opened the doors and Ichigo gently set Grimmjow inside. "Now, stop being stupid." Ichigo said severely and Grimmjow couldn't help but grin.

"This from you? The guy who got the living shit beat out of him by Nnoitra, and still tried to attack me? You practically had your guts hanging out!" He said, amused. That had been impressively suicidal, at the time. Kurosaki scowled at him.

"Pfft. Do as I say, not what I do." Grimmjow was still trying to puzzle that out when Roku tossed the bag in and shut the doors. Shrugging to himself, he lay down and tried to ignore the bumps. The company vans weren't exactly the smoothest ride, especially for the cargo in the back. Grimmjow closed his eyes and, despite the bumps, managed to doze off.

He really wasn't feeling too great right now.

* * *

Ichigo glanced up at the ceiling before making another pot of tea.

Grimmjow was asleep upstairs. Kisuke had gotten him a regular gigai and some soul candy, for when he needed to leave his body behind. He'd programmed it to know cars and have a good work ethic, but the rest of the personality was still a mystery. A terrifying mystery, but they'd find out someday. For now, Grimmjow was trying to sleep off his injuries. The gigai he was in was undamaged, but that didn't make the damage to his soul body any less profound.

"Hey, Ichi." Karin poured herself a cup of tea, and Ichigo waved at her, leaning against the counter. "Where are Goat face and Yuzu?"

"No idea." Ichigo said frankly. "But they're not in the house, the car is gone." He was sure of that. Karin grunted in satisfaction.

"Good, I have a question for you." She said as Ichigo took a sip of his tea. "If you break up with the bluebell, can I have his phone number?" Ichigo sprayed the table with tea, then coughed violently. Karin looked at him with faint exasperation. "Gross, Ichi-nii."

"Karin! You're thirteen!" He yelped, utterly horrified. Karin shrugged.

"I'm young, not dead." She pointed out. "And he has amazing buns." Ichigo looked at his sister in horror, then realized she was yanking his chain. Although maybe she was partly serious, he wasn't entirely sure. Then he realized something.

"Wait, you know about us?" He glanced up the stairs, involuntarily. Karin snorted before drinking her tea.

"I hate to break it to you, Ichi, but everyone except Goat-face and Yuzu have figured it out. Even Orihime has figured it out." Ichigo flushed, feeling quite embarrassed. "I think the only reason dad and Yuzu haven't gotten it is because they're completely denying that you're gay." Karin shook her head. "I've known you were gay for years."

"What?" Ichigo blinked. "How could you? I didn't know I was gay until Grimmjow… I didn't even know!" He knew he was blushing and couldn't help it. But how could Karin have known?

"It's the way you look at people." She explained as he stared at her. "You don't notice girls at all, not really. You never did, not like the other guys in your class. I mean, Orihime would enter the room and you'd just look at her face when every other guy had to glance at her hips and boobs." Ichigo wasn't sure if he was fascinated or appalled by that revelation. "You do know that Grimmjow isn't totally gay, right?" Karin sounded a bit worried and Ichigo blinked, taking a sip of his tea as he tried to control his blushes.

"Uh, yes, he said he's bisexual." He managed to say and Karin looked relieved.

"Good, I just wanted to make sure he wasn't deceiving you on that. If he hurts you, I'll have to kill him." Karin sounded fierce and Ichigo wondered how she would react if she knew how their relationship had started in the first place. It was better not to even go there. "But if you break up with him, I want his number. He's all kinds of awesome."

"Karin!" Ichigo couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not going to break up with him. I love him." The admission came out easily, and he realized he'd wanted to make it for a long time. It felt good to tell Karin how he felt. His sister blinked, just looking at him for a moment.

"Wow, you really do. When are you going to tell dad and Yuzu?" She asked and Ichigo cringed internally. That was not going to be a fun discussion.

"I'd hoped to put it off until I was ready to move out." He said, but the look on Karin's face said she didn't think much of that plan. "What?"

"That's pretty hard on Grimmjow, Ichi-nii." She pointed out and Ichigo nodded glumly. She had a point. "And they'll probably catch you someday, you know. You can get kind of loud when you think no one's going to hear you."

"Thanks Karin." Ichigo sighed to himself. He knew she was probably right. "What do you suggest I do?" He might as well listen to her ideas. He didn't have to follow them.

"You should just sit them all down, tell them you're gay and that Grimm is your bishie." Ichigo choked a bit at the mental image of Grimmjow as a bishie. It was wrong on so many levels. And if Grimmjow knew what a bishonen was, he'd probably rip his throat out with his teeth. "They'll completely freak out, dad will cry to mom's poster and you might even have to move out if it goes badly enough. But I looked at Grimm's last paystub, you can totally afford it."

"What! You little snoop… wait, how much is he making?" Ichigo asked apprehensively. He knew being a mechanic paid well, but he hadn't been sure how well and he hadn't been willing to ask Grimmjow. He'd been taught that kind of question was very rude. Of course, so had Karin, which was probably why she'd snooped in the first place. Karin smiled at him broadly.

"Oh, a thousand, eight hundred and twenty dollars." She said calmly and Ichigo was a bit speechless. "A pay period. That's after taxes."

"Really?" Ichigo knew his father earned more, but being a doctor required taking on a lot of debt. Grimmjow had lucked out in that area, he had no debt at all unless you counted the old Buick Skyfire he'd bought and was fixing up. The antique muscle car was costing him money, but since he was doing it himself the labor was free. "That's not bad at all." He allowed. Grimmjow could easily rent a pretty nice place in Karakura. The rents here were not insane like Tokyo. "I wouldn't want him to have to do that though." He said worriedly and Karin rolled her eyes.

"I bet he'd LOVE to do that. Complete freedom to screw you anytime he wants!" She said cheerfully and Ichigo blushed bright red. What had gotten into his little sister? Was this female puberty? Actually, it probably was, that would explain why she wanted Grimmjow's number. Although his dad would completely freak at the thought, and Ichigo would probably join him if she was actually serious. "And he could sleep with you and not on the floor."

"I'm not sure he would. Grimmjow likes sleeping on the floor." He shrugged as Karin gave him a disbelieving look. "He says the bed is too soft." After seeing how Grimmjow had lived in Los Noches, Ichigo could understand that. He'd had almost no comforts in that little room, and hadn't seemed to miss them.

"You'd have to get a bigger one anyway, so you could get the type that has one hardness on one side and a different on the other." Karin said and Ichigo blinked. That was actually a rather good idea. "But really, that's just stupid to worry about Ichi-nii. Are you going to tell them or not?"

"I'll have to think about it. But thanks for the input, Karin." He said and actually meant it. A lot of the time, that would have been a snide comeback. Karin shrugged and started getting out her schoolwork. Ichigo finished his tea and went up to his room to think. Grimmjow wasn't home yet, so he would have some quiet time to think completely undisturbed.

Lying down on his bed, he thought very hard about whether or not to tell his family about him and Grimmjow. One thing he was certain of. If he was going to come clean to his family about himself and Grimmjow, he wanted to be absolutely certain of his feelings for the ex Espada.

Ichigo closed his eyes and remembered. Even though it hurt a bit, he went back to the very beginning and remembered how Grimmjow had raped him. It hadn't hurt, but 'no' hadn't been an option so it had definitely been rape. He could remember his shame, fury and disgust at what the arrancar had done to him. He'd suffered through two weeks of it. And yet… Grimmjow had confused him. All through that time, he'd made sure that Ichigo was not in pain, made sure he had plenty of food. There were small gestures of kindness, moments where Grimmjow was focused on nothing but him and his needs. It was probably Helsinki syndrome, but by the end he had been starting to appreciate those moments and realize there was something behind them, something he didn't understand.

Then Grimmjow had helped him and Inoue to escape. Ichigo shivered at the thought of becoming an arrancar. He was sure Grimmjow had saved him from grotesque torture, and when they'd reached Urahara's he'd realized that Grimmjow was in deep trouble. He'd thrown his life away, practically signed his death warrant to save his fuck toy and a woman he didn't care about. Why? The only conclusion Ichigo had been able to reach was that he wasn't just a fuck toy to the Espada. He couldn't figure out what Grimmjow thought he was, but he knew it was more than that. And he'd thought he would never find out. When Grimmjow left Urahara's, Ichigo had been certain he'd never see the blue haired Espada again, except maybe in pieces.

It had been a shock when the shinigami had suddenly began questioning him about Grimmjow and the nature of their 'relationship'. It had been a worse shock to find out that Grimmjow had been taken by the shinigami the day he saved the two of them. Realizing that he'd been tortured for nearly a month and a half had caused a painful guilt, a heavy weight in Ichigo's heart. Because he did care about the man he'd written off for dead. He cared because Grimmjow had given up everything for them. That one act wiped away so many stains.

But that was where things got murky. How had his confused feelings, his simple caring for the ex Espada turned into love? Ichigo thought it was a combination of hormones, respect and appreciation for the new Grimmjow he was seeing. The one that had always been there, underneath the blood soaked warrior. The weird hollow mating rituals, the love for cars, the guy who wore the ugliest sunglasses he could find… that Grimmjow was the real Grimmjow, to him. Not the absolute lunatic he'd first met, or even the man who'd gently raped him. It was like he was a whole new person.

Ichigo knew that was mostly an illusion. Grimmjow hadn't changed, he'd just found out who Grimmjow really was. He'd always liked cars and if Los Noches had been like the Seireitei, he'd probably have been with Renji at the sunglasses shop. But it really didn't matter. The person he knew now was the one he loved, and it didn't matter that the start had been painful and strange.

Ichigo sighed and decided Karin was right. He had to tell his dad and Yuzu. But first, he needed to tell Grimmjow his decision and get his input. This would affect him every bit as much as Ichigo. Satisfied with that decision, he sat up to get out his own homework. It might not be due for a few days, but he could still get started.

Grimmjow came into the room while he was typing, carrying a skewer of meat in one hand and a mug of tea in the other.

"Hey Ichigo, want some lizard on a stick?" Ichigo looked up, surprised, and looked at the skewer. It didn't look like lizard. "Hah, just kidding, it's chicken. I picked it up from this hole in the wall place near my work."

"Sure, I'd like a piece." His stomach reminded him of how long it had been since supper as he took a chunk of the chicken. "Do you know what Yuzu's making for supper?"

"She's not. It's fend for yourself tonight, she's still off with her dad. Wonder why they're taking so long to get home?" Grimmjow only sounded curious but Ichigo frowned, closing his books. It was nearly seven. That wasn't super late, everyone usually went to bed for ten, but it was past when they normally had supper. "Anyway, I could make something. We've got lots of veggies in the fridge and some sausage, could make one of my random shit concoctions." Ichigo nodded. Those were actually rather good, Grimmjow just sliced up a bunch of available vegetables, tomatoes and onions then added spices. Sometimes Indian or something Italian, depending on mood. The spices were always a little random though. Cinnamon seemed to find its way into everything. "Or we could order something. I got the dime if you've got the time."

"Huh? Is that from Fallout?" He seemed to remember that phrase from some kind of video game. It was pretty apt in this case. Grimmjow had the money, but did he want to wait for take-out to arrive? Hmm. "Actually, yeah, can we get some pizza?" It would take the least time, probably, and be absolutely delicious. Grimmjow nodded with a grin.

"I'll order it. Straight pepperoni?" He asked and Ichigo shook his head.

"Not tonight. Go wild… just no anchovies." He cautioned and Grimmjow laughed.

"No anchovies, right!" Grimmjow pulled out his cell phone and leaned against the wall. Ichigo was amused to find out he had the pizza place saved onto his contact list. A few minutes later and he'd ordered a seafood medley pizza and a meat deluxe, both medium. "That should be okay, right?" He asked Ichigo, who nodded.

"I'd like to try the seafood medley, I've never had that." He answered and for some reason Grimmjow looked very pleased. They were both caught completely by surprise as the door to the room slammed open and almost hit Grimmjow in the face.

"Ichigo! There's been an accident and Dad's been hurt!" Karin rushed into the room. "He's in the hospital and they just called!" Ichigo froze for a moment before vaulting off the bed. Grimmjow cursed and began to call someone.

"Yeah, I just called and I need to cancel that order…" He heard as he began to question Karin. His stomach clenched as he heard the details. A sign near the road had come lose and had gone flying in the wind and hit the car. Fortunately, it had hit flat against the windshield or Yuzu and Isshin could have been cut apart. Unfortunately, their dad had gone off the road and into a tree at that point. Ichigo couldn't blame him a bit.

"He's in the hospital Ichi-nii. Yuzu's okay, mostly, she has a broken arm. But they're not sure dad is gonna…" Karin stayed dry eyed but she was swaying slightly on her feet. Ichigo hugged her for a moment, even though she rarely needed comfort.

"He's going to be fine. Grimmjow, is your car running?" If it wasn't they would have to call a cab, and that would take time. The ex Espada had come up behind them and nodded.

"Yeah, I already put in the new seats and checked out all the important parts. It's just body work now, and no one at the hospital will give a shit if its puke green and full of dents. C'mon, let's go." Grimmjow said, leading them out of the house. He was paying for a spot at a nearby lot, which wasn't expensive but necessary. Their house had no driveway and street parking wasn't allowed here, the roads were too narrow. Isshin did the same with his car. Normally, Ichigo would have winced at the sight of Grimmjow's car. It was clearly a work in progress, with the ugliest paint job he'd ever seen. But now he just hopped in, consumed with worry about his family.

He could only hope they were okay.

* * *

"Dad…" Ichigo felt tears rise up as he looked at the limp, comatose form of his father.

Isshin had always seemed indestructible. He took kicks from Karin and Ichigo, fell out of windows and was stuck full of glass like a porcupine. He was full of energy, running around and trying to cheer them up whenever they became despondent. He was impossible to put down.

Until now. The crazy accident with the sign and the car crash after had very nearly done it. Isshin had broken bones, head injuries and they'd had to give him a huge blood transfusion. But he'd pulled through, and so far the doctors were cautiously optimistic about his chances. The head injuries didn't look too bad, a concussion and whiplash. The bones would heal, and the internal bleeding had been stopped. Unless there were complications. Ichigo had worked in a clinic, and he knew there was always a chance of complications.

Ichigo sniffed as he felt a warm, strong arm around him. He let himself lean against Grimmjow, accepting the comfort he had to offer. Karin was sitting in a chair beside Isshin, just looking at him as if he might wake up at any moment. But that wasn't going to happen. It was going to be hours at least before Isshin came out of the anesthesia, and probably longer before he regained consciousness.

"It's really weird seeing him like this. I'm sorry, Ichigo." Grimmjow said softly and Ichigo nodded, swallowing hard. But…

"Karin, we need to go home." He said gently and Karin looked up, her eyes damp with unshed tears. "The operation is over and he's okay. We have to go home and try to get to school." They still had to go on with life, and the hospital wouldn't allow them to stay forever. They'd already gone well past visiting hours. It was almost two in the morning. Grimmjow snorted.

"You guys aren't going to school tomorrow." He said bluntly. "Call off with a family emergency. You're not gonna get any sleep tonight." Ichigo hesitated, then nodded. Grimmjow was right. "C'mon, let's go." His tone was gentle and Ichigo nodded again before following the ex Espada out.

He only hoped Isshin would be recover.


End file.
